Fire hits community health center in Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Fire investigators are looking for what caused a blaze that struck a century-old building near downtown Bloomington that houses a community health facility.

Mark Webb of the Bloomington Fire Department tells The Herald-Times that the Tuesday night fire caused extensive damage to the IU Health Community Health Building. The arriving firefighters found a blaze starting on the first floor and extending plumes of smoke through the attic of the three-story limestone building.

Crews needed about an hour to put out the fire.

Health center director Carol Weiss-Kennedy says an employee didn’t notice any problems when leaving about a half hour before the fire was reported.

Building owner Tim Ellis says it was constructed in the early 1890s.