Fire burns building in Frankfort

FRANKFORT, Ind. (WLFI) - The Indiana Brass building in Frankfort caught fire late on Thursday.

The Clinton County Fire Department responded to the call around 10:20 p.m. Thursday night.

According to Frankfort Police Lieutenant Jeff Wellman, it took about three hours to bring the fire under control.

Police say the building was empty, and no injuries have been reported.

There is no word yet on what caused the fire or where exactly it began.

Wellman said the Indiana Department of Environmental Management was on-scene, conducting an investigation about chemicals that may have been inside the building during the blaze.

Wellman said that if any chemicals were inside the building, he believed they would have burned off during the fire, making hazardous residue unlikely.

Wellman said the owner of the building lives out-of-state. Wellman said the owner has not yet been in contact with him.

Chuck Toney, the city of Frankfort Building Commissioner, said he had been afraid that something like this fire might happen, because the owner has not done anything for the building since he purchased it.

Toney called the building an eyesore to the community, and said weekly visits had been made to remove the transient population from the structure.

Toney said Building Services was conducting its own investigation. He said he hopes to be in contact with the owner shortly to discuss demolition, as the building is still potentially dangerous.

Wellman said that as the structure was hazardous, the fire was fought defensively, from the outside. Wellman said no fireman entered the building in the process of controlling the blaze.

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