Fire reported at Alley Theatre in downtown Houston

Houston firefighters respond to an alarm just before noon Thursday at the Alley Theater in downtown Houston. Houston firefighters respond to an alarm just before noon Thursday at the Alley Theater in downtown Houston. Photo: Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle Photo: Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close Fire reported at Alley Theatre in downtown Houston 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

At least a dozen units from the Houston Fire Department responded to a reported fire at the Alley Theatre at Louisiana Street and Texas Street in downtown Houston.

Firefighters were still on the scene mid-afternoon, pulling out duct work, said HFD spokesman Jay Evans. The fire was under control but not out.

At 4 p.m., a smaller crew was still at work, checking the smoldering insulation, said Capt. Ruy Lozano.

"They're still going through insulation to see where it was smoldering from, so they can completely extinguish it with confidence," he said. "They keep searching until they find it. We don't want it to rekindle."

On Thursday evening, Evans said a preliminary cause or the estimated extent of damages most likely will be available on Monday.

The theater, a form of Brutalist architecture, is undergoing a $46.5 million renovation, which began July 14.

About 100 firefighters were at the scene, said Kenyatta Parker, public information officer with the Houston Fire Department.

They were dousing insulation in duct work that likely could be the source of the fire, he said.

When insulation catches fire, he said, it acts like a mattress and is difficult to extinguish.

At 11:25 a.m., Capt. Ruy Lozano said the fire had gone to a second alarm, with light smoke visible but no flames.

Smoke was coming from the second turret on the west side of the building.

At least two gurneys have been brought to the site, but a police officer at the scene said he thinks they were brought as a precaution.

No injuries have been reported.

A construction worker said he saw the flames and alerted authorities.

He then began to get people outside of the building.

The man said he is a tower crane operator, but was outside of the crane when he saw the flames.

Landscaper and musician JJ Freeman was sitting in Jones Plaza having lunch when he saw the scene unfold.

"I started seeing smoke and saw construction employees walking out pretty orderly. No one was in a rush."

Alley Theatre managing director Dean Glatten speculated that the fire was caused by a spark during construction.

The fire was in the main building, he said, with smoke billowing through the turret.

The main building already had been nearly gutted during reconstruction, he said. No theater equipment or property was in the building.

He does not expect the fire to delay the opening, scheduled for October 2016.

The Alley is performing at the University of Houston, so no performances or rehearsals are affected, said Rodi Franco, the Alley's director of marketing and communications.

The staff has been in their offices in the adjacent parking garage building, a separate building not affected by the fire.

Please check back soon for more information on this developing story.