Abandoned building at old Smith’s Steel plant in Marshall catches fire

MARSHALL, Texas (KSLA) - On Thursday night, crews in Marshall battled a large building fire.

According to the Marshall Fire Department, it happened Thursday, Jan. 19 just after 9 p.m. in the area of Hazelwood and Travis. When crews got on scene, they say heavy black smoke was coming from the old Smith’s Steel plant. A large building there was completely engulfed in flames when firefighters showed up.

The department says crews immediately started a defensive attack and had to call in some off-duty firefighters to help put out the blaze. It took several hours to bring the fire under control, the department says. Fire department officials say it was a particularly difficult fire to put out because of the dangers associated with the abandoned building.

It took just under four hours to put out the fire, the department reports. Crews spent the rest of the morning putting out hot spots.

No injuries were reported.

The fire department says nobody was in the building when the fire happened, and the unused building did not have power.

An investigation into how the fire started is underway. Anyone with information about what happened should call Crime Stoppers, or the Marshall Fire Department.

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