Fire on East 55th Street in Cleveland is 105th vacant building fire this year

CLEVELAND - A cause to the fire that broke out on East 55th Street in Cleveland is expected to be announced Tuesday morning.

Cleveland Fire Department spokesperson Larry Gray said a man was questioned in connection to the fire, but no one has been arrested.

The call came in just before 11 a.m. on Wednesday at the old Fresh Start Incorporated building.

According to Housing Department Director Edward Rybka, there was only one complaint about the property this past April. Inspectors concluded it was not open and unsecured. Efforts to reach Fresh Start were unsuccessful.

Gray said this recent blaze marks the 105th time a vacant property has gone up in flames this year.

The fire is believed to have started in the basement. But some like Jim Rokakis, of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, just call it blight.

"If we don't get our hands on the problem it will never come down," he said.

Currently, there is an estimated 8,000 vacant structures in the city of Cleveland.

"It's really simple," he said. "If we don't take it down there will be more tomorrow. And we'll never get ahead."

Gray said no one was inside the building at the time and there are no reports of injuries.