Fire crews battle massive blaze in Camp Washington, after earlier Vine Street fire

Cincinnati fire crews battled two major fires in less than 24 hours: One in Camp Washington and an earlier fire that was contained on Vine Street.

The blaze in Camp Washington started at approximately 9 a.m. on the corner of Arlington Street and Colerain Avenue. Heavy smoke was still billowing in the air three hours later.

Cincinnati Fire Department Chief Michael Washington said the building that caught fire is a large, vacant commercial structure.

The main body of the fire has been knocked down, though crews are still cautiously and defensively battling the blaze due to some structure collapse, Washington said.

Around 120 Cincinnati firefighters responded to the fire, with assistance from other local departments. The Queen City Barrel fire in 2004 was the last time a similar number of firefighters responded to an incident in Cincinnati, the chief said.

A neighboring vacant building was also impacted, Washington said, adding crews are working to ensure the blaze doesn’t extend to any other buildings.

He said he’s ”quite sure” the nearby historic Crosley building has not been affected.

No injuries to firefighters or civilians have been reported, so far. Crews will remain on scene for some time, the chief said.

https://twitter.com/CincyFireEMS/status/1631898020227760128?s=20

Late Friday night, fire crews were on scene in the 8400 block of Vine Street. According to fire officials a structure fire quickly escalated from a one alarm response to a three alarm fire. Officials estimated the damage to be $750,000.

No injuries were reported in that fire either.

The American Sign Museum released a statement regarding the Camp Washington fire.

"Due to a neighborhood emergency and for the safety of both our visitors and public servants, the Museum will be closed today, Saturday, March 4," the release stated. "The Museum is unaffected and will resume normal hours of operation tomorrow, Sunday, March 5 from 12-4 p.m."

The Enquirer will update this story when more information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati fire crews battle massive blaze in Camp Washington