Shooting flames lead firefighters to warehouse blaze after wrong location reported

Flames shooting 20 feet into the night sky guided Macon-Bibb County firefighters to a warehouse fire just after 3 a.m. Tuesday.

A Norfolk Southern train crew initially reported the blaze as being at the old Macon Iron & Paper Co., which sent fire crews down to Lower Poplar.

Capt. Michael Williamson, of the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department, said it was quickly apparent that the blaze was on Sixth Street as firefighters could see the blaze lighting up the sky.

When firefighters arrived, the abandoned one-story brick building was engulfed in flames and firefighters took a defense mode in battling the blaze.

After about an hour, the fire was contained, but crews are staying on the scene to fight any hot spots that flare up.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but since it’s a vacant structure, it is possible homeless people might have started a warming fire, Williamson said.

Although he was not sure what used to occupy the old warehouse, a faded sign across the top of the side of the building read GC Quality Lubricants.

The building backs up to the train tracks and is not far from an old Macon Iron & Paper location. Williamson suspects the train crew read an old Macon Iron & Paper sign as they reported the blaze.

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 7:25 AM with the headline "Shooting flames lead firefighters to warehouse blaze after wrong location reported."