Nicole Higgins DeSmet

Free Press Staff Writer

Fire crews knocked down a blaze in the upper floors of the former Burlington Free Press building Monday afternoon on College Street in downtown.

The fire, which the authorities later said was sparked by the careless disposal of cigarettes on the roof, was reported at 185-195 College St. shortly before 3 p.m. No one was injured.

Inside the building, no alarms warned Jake Blend, who was inside the arcade and bar The Archives getting ready to open for the day and making sure everything was in working order for another night of fun.

“I was inside fixing the games,” he said. “And then there was a ladder in the window.”

Blend felt guilty abandoning his task, but he said he was “was curious to find out what was happening.” He met bartender Allison Malar at the door as she arrived for her 3 p.m. shift. The police tape had yet to go up, so she walked through the chaos straight into the building.

By 3:15 p.m. black smoke and flames could be seen rising on the roof. Firefighters accessing the roof from ladder trucks extinguished the blaze, which was confined to the upper floors, by about 4:30 p.m.

Archives owner Matt Walters was relieved, but anxious to get back inside his bar. “I’m told we’re going to be fine,” Walters said. “The fire was in a back corner. No one is hurt, and that’s the important thing.”

They hoped to get the bar open soon after the all clear was given.

College Street between Church Street and South Winooski Avenue reopened for commuters early Monday evening.

The blaze began on the roof in the penthouse area near the freight elevator, Deputy Fire Chief Peter Brown said.

The fire was contained to the upper floors. The building at 191 College St. is under construction on the upper floors. Construction workers were evacuated from the building. The origin of the blaze, the second at the property since spring 2014, was traced to the southeast corner of the roof above the third floor.

“This incident is the third multiple-alarm fire in the City of Burlington in the past month that has been attributed to the careless disposal of cigarettes and other smoking materials,” Fire Marshal Barry Simays said in a statement. “Smoking of any type is strictly prohibited within construction sites.”

Damage was estimated at $20,000 to the property, valued at $2.8 million and owned by Great Cedars, LLC.

Until January 2014, the Burlington Free Press offices were housed in the building. The printing press remains in an adjacent building on South Winooski Avenue.

Contact Nicole Higgins DeSmet ndesmet@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1845. Follow her on Twitter @NicoleHDeSmet.