WILKES-BARRE -- A smoky fire broke out Wednesday morning in Wilkes Barre. The smoke could be seen for miles.
The fire stared around 9 a.m. in a large vacant apartment building on North Welles Street.
It took firefighters from the city and Kingston a little more than an hour to put it out and clear the smoke.
Crews blocked off parts of North Welles Street and Amber Lane to fight the fire.
Wilkes-Barre fire Chief Jay Delaney says no one was inside the building and no one was hurt.
Neighbors say it's been vacant for years but that doesn't mean no one's been in there.
"But the thing is, is that people have been staying in there, you know, those who are homeless,” said Anthony Vieney of Wilkes-Barre.
Fire officials say there were no utilities hooked up to the building.
Officials are not calling the fire suspicious. They say the cause is still under investigation.
“It should be torn down. I hope it goes now. "
"We (were) hoping that something would happen where nobody would get killed in this place or something, you know, because anything could happen with it,” Vieney added.
The streets have reopened in the area of North Welles in Wilkes-Barre.