Office building catches fire in Swansea

Firefighters believe a Swansea office building fire started from an exhaust fan on the second floor Friday night.

Swansea Fire Chief John McGuire said the structure at 159 West Professional Park had “significant damage” inside as a result of the incident. The building is located off Illinois 159.

“We know the fire started in the exhaust fan in a restroom and the exhaust fan is on the second floor. (The fire) spread to the attic. There was a lot of plastic pipe that was consumed by the fire, causing the steady black smoke that we’re seeing,” McGuire said.

McGuire said firefighters cut a hole in the rooftop with a chainsaw to ventilate the smoke from the attic. Firefighters worked on scene for more than an hour.

Emergency officials received the call at 6:56 p.m. Friday. The callers reported seeing flames coming from the rooftop.

No injuries were reported.

A property manager of the office building who was at the scene declined to comment on the incident.

Swansea Fire Department received assistance from Northwest Fire Department. Swansea Police Department, Belleville Police Department and an Abbott EMS ambulance were also at the scene.

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 9:43 PM with the headline "Office building catches fire in Swansea."