18 firefighters injured battling Monroe County fire [Video]

MONROE TWP. (WWJ) — A firefighter was taken to the hospital and more than a dozen others were treated at the scene of a fire at a vacant building in Monroe County Tuesday afternoon.

The fire broke out around 1:30 p.m. at a large building on S. Monroe Street, next to the Michigan College of Beauty, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities have not determined the cause of the fire and it was not immediately clear if anyone was in the building at the time of the fire.

Fire crews from 10 communities in Monroe County were called to the scene, along with Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies and officers with the Monroe Police Department. The first officers on-scene found heavy black smoke coming from the building.

The sheriff’s office said 17 firefighters were all treated for heat-related injuries, while another was taken to Promedica Hospital, where they were …