Masonic Temple in Zanesville 'Engulfed in Flames,' Set to Collapse

Firefighters are preparing for the building collapse of the Masonic Temple in Zanesville as it continues to burn.

Zanesville Times Recorder Reporter Christine Holmes explained the state of the building in a caption as she tweeted a video of the building on fire.

She wrote: "The Masonic Temple in downtown Zanesville is fully engulfed in flames. The iconic building, the city's tallest, is home to numerous art studios.

"We know the county jail located next door has been safely evacuated. We are still waiting on word regarding the temple."

Firefighters have said while the exterior of the building may appear to be strong, collapsing from inside the temple have been echoing through the streets.

It is not yet clear how many people were in the building at the time of the fire or what caused it.

According to a report by the Times Recorder, building manager Bob Grayson said everyone made it out of the building safely.

He added: "It's an icon of a building that's disappearing in front of our eyes."

Zanesville Fire Chief Jeff Bell said the fire was already burning through the building's roof when his department got the call.

He said artists were going in and out of the Masonic Temple in preparation for Friday's art walk as the building is home to many art studios and businesses.

He said: "It's an effort from the whole county to help us to try to contain it right now.

"It's just very sad. It's a historic building for Zanesville and the downtown area."

Bell added that fighting a fire downtown is "kind of in some ways a nightmare scenario.

The Masonic Temple neighbors a county jail which has now been completely evacuated out of fear of the fire spreading or damage from the collapse.

Newsweek has contacted the Zanesville Fire Department for comment.

Ohio's neighboring state, Pennsylvania, suffered its deadliest city blaze in over 100 years on Wednesday.

Fire officials confirmed that at least 13 people died, 7 of whom were children, in the large fire that broke out at a three-story rowhouse in the morning.

It was the city's deadliest fire since a 1910 blaze that killed 22. The blaze broke out on the 800 block of North 23rd Street in Philadelphia's Fairmont neighborhood.

Authorities also said that eight people were able to self-evacuate, two people, one a child, remain in critical condition at the hospital but are expected to survive.

"Preliminary information indicates companies arrived at 6:40 a.m. and found heavy fire coming from the second floor of a three-story rowhouse. It took 50 minutes to place the fire under control," the Philadelphia Fire Department tweeted.

Firefighters discovered multiple fatalities as they began their assault on the fire.