A three-alarm fire burned out a vacant building in downtown Baltimore this morning, slowing rush-hour traffic and halting service on the light rail line between the North Avenue and Westport stops.
The fire started before 5:45 a.m. in an abandoned building, formerly known as the Backstage Cafe & Cafeteria, in the 200 block of W. Clay St., fire officials said. It quickly went to three alarms, bringing 30 fire engines and nearly 100 firefighters to the scene, the officials said.
The building is around the corner from Howard Street and the light rail's tracks.
Overhead power lines for the light rail were shut off to make conditions safer for firefighters, who ran hoses and parked fire engines across the tracks.
Also, bus service along Howard Street, a major transit thoroughfare near Lexington Market, was disrupted, as transit officials rerouted traffic.
The blaze was under control by 7:30 a.m., but firefighters and investigators remained on the scene through the morning. Damage was estimated at $500,000.
No injuries were reported.
Fire officials said they believed the fire was set, possibly by vagrants, on the second floor of the three-story brick building.
Dianna Rosborough, a spokeswoman for the Mass Transit Administration, said light rail service between Westport and North Avenue stopped about 6 a.m. Passengers had to disembark at those stops, and were bused to their destinations.
At 7:45 a.m., light rail trains running into the city from Anne Arundel County were allowed to proceed as far as the stop at Camden Yards.
Normal service on the light rail line resumed later in the morning.
The fire was the third early-morning blaze in the city in as many days.