Firefighters are still battling spot fires after the old Brown Shoe Factory building in Salem went up in flames Wednesday night.
The structure now houses Dalton Storage on West Main and College Streets.
The call came in around 10:00, and Salem Fire Chief Roger Mann says when crews arrived, the building was quickly becoming fully engulfed.
"Within just minutes, it was totally involved - the full length east and west - the whole building, and then it dropped down into the floor. It spread very quickly, and we did have radiant heat damage to a house across the road."
A State Deputy Fire Marshall was called to the scene to help determine the cause of the fire. Odin, Mt. Vernon City, Centralia City, Kinmundy-Alma, Odin, Iuka, and Kell Firemen were all called for mutual aid assistance.
When power was cut to the old factory, power also went out to large sections of the north and west side of Salem. Many of the stop lights are not working as a result of the power outage.
On its Facebook page, the Salem Fire Department says this is one of the largest fires in the town's history.
