It was just after 6p.m. on Thursday evening when members of the Empire Volunteer Fire Department got the call.

An old garage which sits just off an alleyway along Main Street had caught fire.

"When we actually started getting to the station we saw heavy smoke, because we thought it got into the neighboring house," said Assistant Chief Kevin Gray. "The state of the structure right now is highly compromised, it's unstable; definitely tonight we'll rope off the area."

Initially crews were afraid it would ignite the apartments beside it. Fortunately they kept that from happening, but they are still trying to figure out how it all started.

"We're not exactly sure of the cause of the fire at this time. There was no electricity to the building. We know that the State Fire Marshal will be able to investigate."

Before they could put down the hoses and let investigators handle the rest there was something they had to do.

"The chances of it rekindling are pretty good," said Gray. "We're going to throw a lot of water on it and hopefully the rain helps."

Fire officials are asking residents who live in the area to stay clear of the building until investigators and officials find out what they can do with it.