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SYDNEY, N.S. —

Firefighters battled a blaze at a vacant downtown building Tuesday evening that used to be home of the Cape Breton Post.

Sydney Fire Department Deputy Chief Chris March confirmed both station one and station two responded to the call about the blaze along with three trucks and the platoon chief. No other fire departments were called.

The call for the fire was received at 5:29 p.m. March said he believed someone called after seeing smoke coming from the top floor at the back of the building.

Smoke can be seen coming out of windows on the top floor of the building, on both sides. NIKKI SULLIVAN/CAPE BRETON POST - Nicole Sullivan

The smoke could be spotted coming from the top floor of the back of the building on both sides as firefighters broke through boarded up doors to gain entry.

Police arrived on scene about 20 minutes after fire services to help block the section of Dorchester Street between George and Charlotte Streets from traffic.

The scene was cleared around 7 p.m.

The building had been purchased in December 2019 by Ajay Balyan, his brother Ankit Balyan and partners in India, who planned to turn it into a complex with apartments, food court, pool hall and pub. Ajay and Ankit moved to Cape Breton from India two years ago to study at Cape Breton University and currently own an Indian restaurant in Sydney. They and their business partners purchased the building at 75 Dorchester Street from Bidart Safety Supply Ltd.

In 2018, the building was assessed at $102,100. It was listed for sale at $495,000 and noted the large amount of space in the building - 18,750 square feet of space available on three floors.

It was built in 1900 to house the Cape Breton Post, where the publication stayed until 1985.

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