Sabian Warren

swarren@citizen-times.com

ASHEVILLE — Firefighters battled a fire Monday morning in a building on Merrimon Avenue.

The fire was in a commercial building in the 400 block of Merrimon. By 7 a.m., the building appeared to be completely burned out.

No injuries were reported. Two people who lived in upstairs apartments in the building escaped unharmed, Asheville Fire Department acting battalion chief Eddie Wyatt said.

One resident escaped on his own, but firefighters had to rescue the other resident, he said.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, which was reported at 3:25 a.m.

Merrimon Avenue reopened at 10:45 a.m. It had been closed near the intersection of W.T. Weaver Boulevard.

The owner of the building, Robert Johnson, said a screen printing business occupied the lower floor of the building.

"I have no insurance, so I don't know what I'm going to do," Johnson said. "I just hate it."

The two upstairs tenants were UNC Asheville college students, he said.

The brick building was built in 1916, Johnson said. He said he has owned it since 2002.

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