VALLEY PARK, Mo. – Multiple fire crews responded to a major commercial structure fire overnight in Valley Park. The scene has been unfolding since very early Wednesday morning.

Authorities told FOX 2 that the business that caught fire is ‘Elite Properties.’ It’s a property management and restoration company. The wind has certainly been an issue for fire crews, especially overnight, fanning the smoke and flames.

This is all happening at Marshall Road and 6th Street. The fire went to a third alarm early on, prompting a response from some 60 firefighters and a dozen different departments. Firefighters got the initial call right around 3:00 a.m.

“It was just raging,” Destiny Williams, nearby resident, said. “Absolutely insane. Then when I came back inside and I came out, it was even worse. You couldn’t even see the street the smoke was so bad. There was ash flying in our face, we were all covering our faces just to watch.”

Curtis Van Gaasbeek, the Assistant Chief of the Valley Park Fire Protection District, shared that crews could see smoke and flames pouring from the building as soon as they left their nearby firehouse. Crews battled the smoke and flames along with the wind to keep the fire contained to just one business. Fortunately, that effort was successful.

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For one of the long-time employees of Elite Properties, it was a devastating sight arriving to work Wednesday morning.

“It is very surprising,” Julian, employee, said. “Kind of sad a little bit. When I see everything, it’s gone. Everything’s gone.”

Residents said they heard a loud boom around 3 a.m. Wednesday when the fire was first reported. The crews at the scene heard booms earlier as well. It’s unclear what exactly those were.

Nearby neighbors lost power within the block, but it was restored later Wednesday afternoon.

“Fire is fed by air and wind. And once we get these high winds that we’ve had here like this, it creates a heavy challenge for us. So crews are working really hard. We immediately when we got there tried to make interior, fire was too intense – we had to back out. So we’ve just got the aerials up and we’re flowing water right now,” said Assistant Chief Van Gaasbeek.

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No injuries are being reported. The cause of the fire is still undetermined. FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

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