By the time firefighters from Middletown and Monroe, OH arrived on the scene, flames were shooting from every opening of the wood and metal structure and high into the sky above. No one was injured.

Heavy streams of water from ladder trucks tore through the blaze and dislodged large pieces of wood and metal, which crashed onto piles of gravel in heaps of sparks and embers.

Within 10 minutes, firefighters had the blaze mostly extinguished except for a few hot spots.

"We were in the process of taking it down this week," said Watson supervisor Steve Rains. "I guess this hastens the process.

"It's not a total catastrophe since we were tearing it down anyway," he said.

Rains said the building had not been used in more than eight years and the electric had been shut off for some time.

Middletown fire Captain Paul Lolli said the blaze remains under investigation.

A small fire ignited earlier in the day Wednesday when the gravel company was cutting metal; however, Lolli said it was quickly extinguished by workers. Also, the company has been having problems with vagrants using the building as a shelter, Lolli said.

It's the second time in less than two months the Middletown firefighters responded to fires at structures set to be razed.

On Sept. 5, fire heavily damaged a vacant building at the corner of South Broad and Girard streets in downtown Middletown. At the time, the city's planning department said bids were to open three days later for the demolition of the building, which was not altered due to the fire.

The multi-level wood building, which formerly housed a business and an apartment, required the help of departments from Franklin and Monroe as well.

Neighborhood residents said homeless people often frequented the building.

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