Update: Major street reopens after large building burns. It was a Fresno landmark
UPDATE: What will happen to ‘significant’ Clement Renzi sculpture spared from Fresno fire?
A multistory former banquet hall sustained major damage as it burned overnight into Monday, according to the Fresno Fire Department.
The department got reports of flames just before midnight Sunday at the building that used to be the home of the Fagbule Glass House Event Center (and before that, a bank) across from Manchester Center on Shields Avenue east of Blackstone Avenue, Battalion Chief Kirk Wanless said.
Flames were visible from the three-story building, he said. The structure was considered to be a hazard to firefighters and parts of it collapsed as it burned, Wanless said.
The building, a familiar sight to Highway 41 commuters and one of the tallest in the center of the city, was known to house homeless people, but no one was believed to be inside as crews fought the fire.
Wanless said demolition was inevitable. “My instinct tells me we’re going to knock the building down,” he said. “There’s a process you have to go through for that.”
The south side of Shields Avenue was closed for several hours Monday morning as crews worked the scene and evaluated the building.
The street, which feeds into Highway 41, reopened later in the day.
No firefighters were hurt in the effort that called for 10 fire rigs and 40 firefighters, he said.
This story was originally published January 30, 2023 at 6:13 AM.
