COLUMBUS, Ohio — The former General Electric building in Circleville caught fire Saturday evening after a welding incident.
The Circleville Fire Department was called to the 500 block of East Ohio Street just before 6 p.m. in response to a fire in the vacant building.
Circleville Fire Chief Brian Thompson told 10TV that the factory is going through a demolition phase and has been closed since 2017.
According to Thompson, the demolition crew was doing grinding and welding to remove items from the building when a large debris pile caught fire, possibly from an ember. The fire spread from the pile, some of it entering the roof of the building.
The fire has since been contained.
Due to the size of the building, multiple fire departments were on scene to assist Circleville, including Pickaway Township Fire, Harrison Township Fire and Scioto Township Fire.
Nearby roads were shut down while local fire departments worked to transfer water to the fire due to the building no longer having a pumphouse or access to water.
"It could have been worse," Thompson said. "Fortunately, we didn't have any type of collapse. We were able to detain it pretty quickly."
No one was injured in the incident.
Contractors are on scene Saturday night to ensure safety and to watch for a possible re-kindle.