A fire broke out behind three local businesses near the Tower District of Fresno this afternoon, leaving Van Ness Avenue closed between Home and Floradora Avenues for approximately two hours.

Fresno Fire Department’s Public Information Officer, Josh Sellers, said the fire department started receiving multiple reports of a business on fire at 12:45 p.m.

“We had a full commercial response of over 35 firefighters on this. It took about half an hour to get the fire out,” Sellers said.

Over 35 firefighters attended the scene, and multiple fire units reported there were already signs of black smoke showing when they arrived.

Crew members later identified there was fire on the backside of the building that later spread into the inside of the building. 

It affected three different businesses: the Spokeasy Public House, the Labyrinth Art Collective and Jazzy Jeans N Things. 

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire and no one was injured.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, and Sellers said an additional issue took place at the scene after a car drove over one of the supply lines from the hydrant to the fire engine. 

“I wanna remind the community anytime that there’s a fire, don’t drive over any fire roads. That’s the lifeline for the firefighters who are inside fighting the fire,” Sellers said.