SAN JOSE — Firefighters on Tuesday battled a three-alarm commercial blaze in a vacant warehouse behind the SAP Center that sent plumes of smoke high above downtown San Jose, authorities said.

The fire ignited in a warehouse near West St. John and North Montgomery streets just after noon, according to the San Jose Fire Department.

Employees at the SAP Center reported the fire after seeing flames and smoke emanating from the vast single-story building, fire Capt. Daniel Vega said. The building was engulfed by the time firefighters arrived three minutes after the initial fire call, so they took a defensive stance against the fire, pouring water on it from the outside.

The blaze was brought under control shortly after 4 p.m., Vega said.

Three alarms were called due to the size of the warehouse — estimated at 20,000 square feet and consisting primarily of concrete with a corrugated metal roof — and reports of unspecified chemicals inside that might catch fire, Vega said.

As a precaution, a hazardous materials team was also summoned to deal with the possible chemical exposure.

As it turned out, there were chemicals on the site but not inside the building, Vega said.

There was no immediate evidence that anyone was inside the warehouse that caught fire, Vega said. A peculiarity that firefighters soon discovered is that the building appeared to be drawing electricity from a nearby power pole despite being declared as vacant.

Vega said firefighters had not entered the warehouse as of 5 p.m. because of concerns it might collapse. For the same reason, the cause of the blaze remained undetermined.

No firefighters were injured, Vega said.

The fire marks the second time this month a vacant building located near the SAP Center has ignited. On March 1, a two-alarm fire heavily damaged a vacant two-story commercial building on West Julian Street and Rhodes Court.

Check back for updates.

Staff writers Robert Salonga and Jason Green contributed to this report.