Fire engulfs Monticello warehouse

MONTICELLO, Ind. (WLFI) - A downtown Monticello building went up in flames Tuesday evening.

The fire started around 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at the Hall's Mall building in Monticello. This warehouse is located downtown at 222 E Marion Street.

When the fire started, emergency crews evacuated 20 homes in the area.

Peterson said firefighters initially seemed to have the blaze under control, but the flames picked back up around 8:15 p.m.

Residents seemed concerned but unsurprised by the second flare-up.

"Well, I knew it was going to be kind of hard to contain, because that thing is loaded with nothing but pallets and wood. It'll burn all night," said resident Chris Foulks.

Monticello Police Captain Kyle Peterson confirmed the warehouse was filled with shipping pallets.

Monticello resident Ruth Ames was impressed that the fire personnel had kept the fire contained. She said she had heard several explosions and seen sparks from the fire in the air over the houses.

Two individuals have suffered injuries relating to the fire. One firefighter was injured and refused treatment on the scene. A civilian was also injured and was transported to a hospital.

A total of 18 of fire departments have participated in efforts to get the fire under control, including Monticello, Monon, Logansport, Idaville, Delphi and Buffalo.

The fire is under control, but still had not been extinguished by 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

An aerial device is monitoring the fire and several thousand gallons of water per minute are being pumped into the structure.

At this point, fire personnel have been on the scene for nearly 17 hours. Injuries due to fatigue are a concern.

Fire personnel currently plan to keep the area under surveillance for at least 48 hours.

Viewers sent in several photos of the fire, and WLFI staff took many others. You can see those photos in this gallery.