Fire official explains what happened

MERIDIAN -- Smoke and flames quickly spread through part of a 1913 historic building in downtown Meridian this morning.

Employees were forced to evacuate as fire crews tried to save files and paperwork for Commercial Newspaper Services at 136 E. Idaho Avenue.

Commercial Newspaper Services sells add for high school and colleges around the nation, and prints their calendars and booklets.

This morning employees noticed smoke between piles of paper. They tried to put it out themselves, but the fire was too big and the smoke too thick.

"We were in the building and heard the fire alarms going off and we looked in one of the room and saw large amounts of smoke and fire and at that time decided to leave the building," said employee Tony Horyza.

It required a big response and 25 firefighters were called to the two-alarm fire when they realized smoke and flames had spread from the first floor to the second floor.

Meridian responded with five engines and Boise Fire Department responded with two engines.

A fire captain says there were at least 1,000 shelves from floor to ceiling filled with stacked with paper.

For more than two hours crews worked to stop the fire from continuing to burn, while others tried to salvage what they could from the office.

From the side of the road, employees watched and waited to see what they should do next.

"It's kind of sad, we hope that we can get back to work as soon as possible, get in there, check the damage and move on," said employee Brandon Martin.

The cleaners next door did not catch fire. There is a brick wall between the two businesses and firefighters believe that kept the other business protected.

The fire loss is estimated to be between $150,000 to $200,000.

The fire reportedly started in the heating and air conditioning unit, but fire investigators are still working to pinpoint the exact cause.