The KFC/Taco Bell on Lancaster Avenue in Wilmington caught fire Thursday morning.

Firefighters got the call around 8:30 a.m., and by the time the first truck arrived, heavy smoke was coming out of the building, Battalion Chief John Looney said. Flames could be seen coming out of the roof of the building.

A second alarm went out for backup.

Firefighters went inside, but conditions rapidly deteriorated, and the fire progressed in the ceiling area, Looney said, so they retreated outside and the roof collapsed soon after.

Crews fought the fire using ladder trucks and high-pressure water hoses spraying the fire from the outside.

By about 11 a.m., the fire was under control. One firefighter was injured and taken to the hospital for treatment, Looney said.

About eight homes on Lancaster Avenue were evacuated during the fire as a precaution, he said.

Traffic was being routed around the area, and Looney said investigators from the State Fire Marshal's Office were on the scene.

Contact Adam Duvernay at (302) 319-1855 or aduvernay@delawareonline.com.

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