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Fire spreads to 3 vacant warehouses near downtown St. Louis

As of 10:20 a.m., fire officials said multiple crews will be on the scene for an extended time working to fully put out the fire.

ST. LOUIS — A large fire escalated to three alarms near downtown St. Louis Sunday morning.

Firefighters responded to an old abandoned warehouse at Collins Avenue and Florida Street.

Photos from 5 On Your Side viewers showed thick black smoke and flames rising from the building at about 7:30 Sunday morning.

The fire spread to two additional warehouses, fire officials said. All three buildings involved are vacant.

Mark Chrisco was also on scene. He has done security and maintenance for the abandoned warehouse for the last few years. 

Chrisco says they were planning to revitalize this building. "We were getting ready to remodel it to do other business in it and it was being in the process to have an architect coming and what not. We're in the process of getting rehabbed to get tenants in it, we're trying to get businesses in there, we're trying to revitalize this area up here. We're trying to make St. Louis a better place," Chrisco adds.

Several homeless people were living inside one of the warehouses, fire officials confirmed. Everyone was accounted for and made it out safely. One person was taken into custody for questioning.

Firefighters also evacuated an apartment building across the street as a precaution. Residents have since returned to their homes.

Note: A previous version of this article stated it was an apartment building on fire.

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