CANTON, Ohio (WJW) – A large vacant building in Canton, where officials said people were living, caught on fire late Wednesday night, prompting a massive response by the Canton Fire Department and forcing neighboring homes to be evacuated.
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According to a media release, shortly after 11 p.m. crews were called to the boarded-up three-story apartment building at 707 5th Street NE. As crews arrived on the scene, they found heavy fire coming from the second and third floors.
Officials said that, according to bystanders, there were two or three people on the third floor.
However, officials said an interior search and attack were not possible because of the amount of fire. In addition, officials noted that the building had previously been condemned and boarded up due to hoarding conditions and structural issues.
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As a result, rooms were searched from ladders outside the building.
After about an hour on the scene, crews said a man exited the first floor of the building. Medics attempted to evaluate him, but when they tried, they said he screamed expletives at the medics and fled the scene, according to the release.
Division Chief Steve Henderson said that in his 27 years as a firefighter, he has never seen anything like it and described “shock and awe.”…