ATLANTA — A large fire ripped through a vacant building in Midtown Atlanta Monday night, Atlanta Fire Rescue said.
11Alive crews were at the scene at 12th Street NE and Peachtree Walk NE. The location is near the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Heavy flames and smoke were seen coming from the building– what appears to be a vacant apartment complex.
Atlanta Fire Captain Ronald Slatton said the building is vacant and there were flames coming from all three of the floors when crews arrived around 8:30 p.m. Slatton said they called the second alarm to get more equipment and firefighters to combat the flames.
"After that conditions did not improve with the first lines we put in place so we went ahead and went defensive," Slatton said.
Video shows part of the building starting to collapse.
Slatton said firefighters were only in the building a short period of time before they went into defensive mode and began spraying water on the fire outside from a distance. Slatton said no firefighters were hurt in the fire but they will be working through the night to put out hotspots and inspect the building.
Slatton also said a restaurant on the back side of the vacant building had to be evacuated just as a precaution.
Residents said the buildings in the area were vacant because they were scheduled for demolition.
Although the vacant building did not have power, thousands in the area were without power for at least an hour.
At 9:30 p.m., Georgia Power reported 5,041 people without power in the area. The power company said it was asked by the fire department to de-energize lines in order to fight the fire safely. An hour later, Georgia Power said it re-routed power to customers.
Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.
Photos | Massive Fire in Midtown Atlanta
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
Also download the 11Alive News app and sign up to receive alerts for the latest on this story and other breaking news in Atlanta and north Georgia.