NewsWest 9
MIDLAND - Fire crews continue to monitor an abandoned building in downtown Midland after a fire ignited Monday afternoon.
The blaze broke out around 2:00 p.m. in the gutted Midland Savings Building on Wall Street.
Fire officials tell NewsWest 9 that the high rise building was being prepared for an implosion next week when combustible materials caught fire in an elevator shaft.
Smoke could be seen for miles pouring out of downtown Midland. No mandatory evacuations were ordered, but workers did leave several nearby buildings due to the thick smoke as a precaution.