The fire destroyed five buildings inside a larger structure, including the Red Dragon Hybrid Tae Kwon Do martial arts school building.

No injuries were reported from the fire.

The fire was contained in the larger structure and did not spread to the neighboring former Moose Lodge 1087 building, which incurred smoke damage from the blaze.

Moundsville Fire Department Chief Gary Brandon said the cause was under investigation by the fire department and the State Fire Marshal as of Friday afternoon.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

Brandon said the fire was called in at 9:40 a.m. and estimated that as of 3:30 p.m. on Friday, firefighters would be battling the blaze until “after dark.” Brandon said that the firefighters had the majority of the fire extinguished, with firefighters still targeting some of the hot spots in the building.

“We have called in an excavator that’s going to come in and start tearing the building down so we can reach areas we can’t get to right now,” Brandon said Friday.

The fire was contained in the large building on Jefferson Avenue, which Brandon said has 10 different addresses inside. He said it was difficult to extinguish because the building had undergone multiple remodels.

“We had false ceilings and walls to deal with,” Brandon said. “At one point, we thought we had the fire knocked down, but three minutes later, it took off again, and we lost half a block. That’s from all the construction in the building over the years that was added onto it, which gave us a major issue.”

Brandon said over a million gallons of city water were used to battle the fire. He noted that this does not include the water tankers from Marshall, Ohio, and Wetzel counties employed during the response.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

The Marshall County Emergency Management Office issued a temporary shelter-in-place order for the city of Moundsville in the early afternoon due to the fire. Marshall County Emergency Management Director Tom Hart said this order was issued to protect residents from the heavy smoke and the types of materials burning inside the building.

“The shelter in place was issued as a precautionary measure since it was an older structure,” Hart said. “There was thick, black smoke that was filling the area and we wanted people nearby to close their windows and shut off air intakes as a precautionary measure.”

Portions of Jefferson, Morton and Baker avenues were closed to traffic during the fire.

American Electric Power shut off electricity in the Jefferson Avenue area and Mountain Air Gas shut off gas services during the blaze. Hart said electric and gas services would be turned back on for the area when the fire was completely extinguished.

First responders ordered owners of neighboring businesses to remove items from their buildings during the fire. Frame and Fortunes co-owner Susan Inclan said she was grateful for the friends, neighboring businesses, city officials, county officials and first responders who assisted in emptying the store.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

“A couple people saw us carrying things out and then we had 30 to 35 people coming in and carrying out boxes,” Inclan said. “It’s just amazing how many people and businesses came and helped. We’re just blessed (the fire) did not get to us.”

While no injuries were reported from the fire, Hart said “some very tired firefighters” on Friday afternoon had been battling the blaze since its start that morning. He thanked the community for its support in bringing food and drinks to the first responders during the fire.

“We appreciate the efforts of everyone today that came together to try to get this fire out and to protect as many lives and as much property as possible,” Hart said. “There’s been tremendous support from the community, with people bringing water, Gatorade and food for the firefighters. The community came together to help take care of these hard-working firefighters.”

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.

|Photo by Derek Redd| Multiple fire departments battle a fire on Jefferson Avenue in Moundsville that spread to four buildings Friday.