Madison - A fire that began in an Elks Lodge in downtown Madison engulfed the building and threatened other structures Friday morning in the city's historic downtown, officials said.
Nine fire crews from at least four agencies were still fighting the fire at the southeastern Indiana blaze about two hours after it began around 6 a.m. No injuries were reported.
"They're still fighting it," said Karen Pfeiffer, a dispatcher with the Madison Police Department. "It just broke through the roof of another building."
Pfeiffer said the fire had spread from the Elks building into the roof of an adjacent building and was spreading to a bank building on its opposite side that is the former city hall of the city 40 miles northeast of Louisville, Kentucky.
As she arrived at work, she said she smelled hot or burning plastic. A short time later, calls came in reporting the fire after flames began shooting out of the Elks Lodge's heat-shattered windows.
The Elks building, a historic brick building with an arched entryway, includes a restaurant and meeting space. It is located just off of Madison's Main Street in its historic district of buildings dating from the 19th century.
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