Cleveland Firefighters Battle 54th Street Fire

Cleveland Firefighters were called to battle a blaze at an abandoned apartment building on West 54th Street early Thursday morning. A neighbor reported the fire around 6:30 a.m.

Cleveland Fire spokesman Larry Gray told cleveland.com that structural damage to the three-story brick building prevted them from fighting the fire from the inside; officials say they don't believe anyone was inside at the time.

"When you have a fire where the roof collapsed, the weight of the roof itself on top of the water weight magnifies, so at anytime that roof can collapse a second time," Gray told cleveland.com. "Because of the danger that it puts the firefighters in, we do not have firefighters go inside the structure."

The building will now be demolished and the fire is under investigation. Gray says that demolition could begin within a couple of days.

Cleveland.com reports that the building has a history of trouble. Neighbors have said that they have noticed drug use and prostitution there for quite some time.

Visit Cleveland.com and follow Chanda Neely on Twitter for more information and photos.