Fire destroys Broadway warehouse

A thick plume of dark smoke rose in the sky near downtown Macon as the sun came up Sunday.

Macon-Bibb County firefighters were called to an old roofing warehouse at 4094 Broadway just before 7:30 a.m.

Flames were already shooting from the building when fire crews arrived and called for additional units. Aerial ladders attacked the blaze from two sides as crews kept a perimeter around the one-story brick building.

Fire chief Marvin Riggins said they contained the blaze and kept it from a nearby building, but it was too dangerous for firefighters to go inside. Once the fire was put out they focused on extinguishing any materials that were inside, he said.

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office had Broadway blocked between Flamingo Drive and Fulton Street, Deputy Clay Williams said. It remained blocked until about 6 p.m.

Just after 7:30 a.m. a transformer blew, which set off burglar alarms down Broadway, Williams said.

This story was originally published March 19, 2017 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Fire destroys Broadway warehouse."