CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Division of Fire has ruled that Tuesday's building fire in the area of E.126th Street and Shaw Avenue was arson. A reward of up to $5,000 has been offered by Crime Stoppers for information leading to an arrest.
Firefighters were called to the scene of what was labeled "an intense building fire" in the 12500 block of Shaw Avenue on Tuesday morning.
Officials tell 3News the situation involved a vacant, two-story building and noted that firefighters had to dig out the fire hydrant upon their arrival at the scene. Downed power lines were also said to be an issue.
No injuries were reported. There was a partial collapse of the back of the building. Our crew witnessed multiple fire departments assisting at the scene with heavy smoke coming out of the building.
If anyone has any information about this fire, please call Crime Stoppers at (216) 252-7463 or the Cleveland Division of Fire's Arson unit at (216) 664-6380.
We streamed live video from the scene, which you can watch in the video below:
3News' Brandon Simmons featured a story Tuesday night on the importance of keeping fire hydrants cleared of the snow in your neighborhood.
"Fire effects everybody on that street," explains T.J. Martin of the Parma Fire Department. "That hydrant impacts everybody on that street should we need to access it in the event of a fire."
Martin said fire doubles every 30-60 seconds, so clearing a hydrant can save firefighters precious time when arriving at the scene.
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