From Wire Reports
Crews battled to put out a fire out Friday in the Five Points South neighborhood.
The wood frame building, which had originally been a house, became fully engulfed in intense flames and the roof collapsed.
According to AL.com, the fire began early Friday morning near Cobb Lane, a historic cobblestone street in Five Points South. The fire started at a commercial building and spread to two small apartment buildings, both of which were evacuated.
Within a couple of hours, one of the brick buildings where the fire had spread went back up in flames and became fully engulfed. Later flames spread in the other brick building.
There were no reports of any injuries. At least 18 people have been displaced.
The affected buildings include 1314 20th St S, a retail building formerly home to Magic City Mercantile, and the Cobb Lane Corners apartment building at 1300 Cobb Lane.
Response from Birmingham
Council leadership and Councilor Crystal Smitherman, who represents the district, released a joint statement Friday morning.
“Like many others, we saw the massive plume of smoke early this morning coming from Southside. First, we’d like to thank the Birmingham Fire Department for their quick action and efforts to prevent the spread of this fire that engulfed several structures on historic Cobb Lane, some of which are still actively burning.
“As of this moment, we do not believe anyone was injured in this fire and that is a blessing and a testament to our first responders.
“Our city’s emergency services exemplify the best of public service, and we owe them a great debt of thanks. Our offices will continue to work closely with city officials and the affected residents to assess the damage, support recovery efforts and explore every possible avenue to restore one of our iconic cobblestone streets.”
BhamNow contributed to this report.
