photo by: Conner Mitchell

Firefighters respond to a fire at Heritage Tractor, 1110 E. 23rd St., on Saturday, May 5, 2018.

Firefighters were at work Saturday evening to extinguish a fire at Heritage Tractor, 1110 E. 23rd St. Portions of 23rd Street near the store were closed while crews battled the fire.

Crews responded to the building just after 7 p.m., according to a news release from Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical. Crews arriving on the scene reported multiple power lines down.

There were 10 units and 24 firefighters on the scene around 9 p.m. Saturday, the release said. Firefighters were using aerial streams and attacking the fire from the building’s exterior “due to the extensive nature of the fire and building construction,” the release said.

Hariom Manohar, office manager of Crimson and Blue Motors next door at 1120 E. 23rd St., said he was leaving work Saturday evening and saw a transformer pole that borders the two buildings fall onto the roof of Heritage Tractor.

“I heard a big, loud explosion and saw fire on their roof and apparently there was a street wire that got pulled down,” he said. “The grass on my dealership caught fire, so I called the cops and I told them to come really quick. Before they came I think there were probably four explosions inside the Heritage.”

Manohar said he spoke to the Heritage owners, who said there are a number of propane tanks, tires and other equipment inside the building.

As far as he could tell, Manohar said, there was nothing that caused the pole to fall.

There was significant damage visible on the building’s roof, but a damage estimate was not immediately available Saturday evening.