BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont firefighters spent the night on the scene of a large fire that gutted an empty historic downtown building.
The fire began just after 7 p.m. Thursday evening in the Gilbert Building at Pearl and Bowie Streets in downtown.
By sunrise bits of sky and daylight could be seen through upper floor windows where the building's roof used to be.
Streets immediately around the building remain closed 12 hours after the fire began.
Currently Pearl St. is closed from Forsyth St. to Crockett St., Bowie St. is closed from Orleans St. to Main St. and Fannin St. is closed at Pearl.
At one point there were nearly a dozen fire trucks at the fire and firefighters spent most of the night extinguishing the fire. Twelve hours later three trucks and crews were left dealing with the remnants of the two-alarm blaze.
The fire started on the south side of the building and firefighters arrived at the fire within four minutes, Beaumont Fire Chief Earl White told 12News.
At one point because of the condition of the interior of the building all firefighters were pulled out of the building and then began fighting the fire in a "defensive" mode, White said.
Firefighters then set up water streams from their ladder trucks to keep a stationary, steady stream of water on the fire.
One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion while fighting the fire from the inside of the building but, other than that, there were no injuries, White said.
The fire was contained to the inside of the building but there is some worry that the building could possibly collapse, White said.
Additional fire crews were brought in to protect nearby buildings and off-duty crews were called in to cover emergencies in the rest of the city, according to White.
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The building was in poor condition and it was unclear what sparked the fire, White said Thursday night.
The building was built in 1903, according to the Tyrrell Historical Library and the Beaumont CVB.
The Gilbert Building's owner, Tom Flanagan, told 12News Thursday night he thought it was possible that vandals could have started the fire or that it could have even been "professional arson."
"We've been involved in historical renovation, revitalization of downtown for over 35 years," Flanagan said. "We've tried to save as many buildings, historical treasures in Beaumont from the wrecking ball as we can."
Flanagan described the events as devastating noting that the building dates back to around the time of the Spindletop gusher which was in 1901.
"We had a vision for the building, to turn it into upscale apartments and this is a severe setback," he said.
Time-lapse video
The 12News Skycam caught this time-lapse view of the downtown Beaumont skyline as the Gilbert Building burned Thursday night.
Here's the full statement from building owner, Tom Flanagan...
"We've been involved in historical renovation, revitalization of downtown for over 35 years. We've tried to save as many buildings, historical treasures in Beaumont from the wrecking ball as we can. This was obviously a devastating night, our beautiful Gilbert building, which goes back to the original Spindletop, has been severely damaged by fire. We had a vision for the building, to turn it into upscale apartments and this is a severe setback. But we're inspired by the bravery of the fire department in Beaumont. These guys are amazing. And I've sat back in this crisis and watched them react with strength and courage and professionalism and I'm so much in awe and appreciative of that. This is not going to stop our vision from moving forward. We believe downtown needs to be revitalized, bigger and better. That being the case, we've met with the city on numerous occasions about the numerous acts of vandalism and crime downtown. This is not the first fire that's been set by vandals and it could actually be professional arson. We had another serious fire last year involving a building just a block away from this that was set. We are asking the city to work with us and all property owners to make downtown safe so that this doesn't happen again."
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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