Firefighters rescue two from vacant building burning on First Street in Fresno

The Fresno Fire Department rescued two people from a burning building Tuesday morning.

A man and a woman were trapped inside the vacant office building on First Street near McKenzie Avenue and firefighters had to cut through the metal bars from the windows to pull the two people to safety. The pair were treated for smoke inhalation but had no other injuries, according to department public information officer Jonathan Lopez.

The fire was reported around 5:45 a.m. and firefighters arrived to find flames throughout the building, which was cleared after the two people were rescued.

There was rapid fire spread in the attic of the building and some structural collapse, but not before firefighters had exited the building. It took crews nearly three hours to put out the fire. No surrounding structures were affected.

Traffic was stopped at First Street between Grant and McKenzie avenues.

The cause of the fire was not known and remains under investigation, Lopez said.

This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 9:33 AM.