An East Baltimore warehouse burned more than seven hours Wednesday and raised concerns among firefighters about large quantities of combustible materials inside.
Firefighters initially entered the warehouse in the Penn-Fallsway neighborhood, but they were driven out by the smoke and heat.
Crews sawed through the brick wall to reach the flames.
The warehouse used to be a mattress factory, but shut down about 20 years ago, said Anthony Rice, who lives nearby.
Firefighters did not say what sort of combustible materials were inside.
Crews were dispatched shortly after 10:30 a.m. and the fire was controlled about 6 p.m. on the 700 block of Greenmount Ave.
The heart of the fire was burning in the basement of the 57,000 square-foot building, officials said. No one was injured.
The warehouse is bounded by E Madison St., Greenmount Ave., E Monument St. and Harford Ave. Police taped off the surrounding blocks.
Rice watched the blaze from the sidewalk, about a block from his home. It was a sight he remembered.
"This has burned before and then they turned it into an appliance store," he said. "They shut it down."
The cause of the fire remained unknown Wednesday.
Baltimore Sun reporter Tim Prudente contributed to this article.