A fire burns at a vacant building near Pine Avenue and Ninth Street in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. Photo courtesy @Ilovetacos88 on Instagram.

Firefighters battled a large blaze at a vacant building on Pine Avenue that sent a plume of smoke wafting over Downtown Long Beach Wednesday morning.

Almost 20 engines and other units were called to Pine near Ninth Street for the second-alarm fire that sparked around 6 a.m. Complicating their job, crews reported there may be a gas leak in or around the building.

Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Jake Heflin said the firefighters took precautionary measures and were able to douse the blaze around 8 a.m. Utility crews also responded to make sure the gas and electricity were shut off.

Part of the building’s roof collapsed because of the fire, and one of the walls was bowing, Heflin said.

Fire investigators are looking into what caused the blaze. Nobody was reported injured.

Jeremiah Dobruck is executive editor of the Long Beach Post where he oversees all day-to-day newsroom operations. In his time working as a journalist in Long Beach, he’s won numerous awards for his investigative reporting and editing. Before coming to the Post in 2018, he wrote for publications including the Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.