Warren City Firefighters worked to put out a blaze inside the abandoned St. Joseph Hospital building.

The abandoned building off of Tod Avenue caught fire around 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

The poor condition of the building made for a dangerous situation for firefighters.

Elevator shafts are open and empty to the basement, said Assistant Warren City Fire Chief Rick Yauger. 

"The basement is full of water.  It is a very dangerous building no one should be in this structure," Yauger said.

Assistant Chief Yauger told 21 News the fire started in the basement where it appears that people have been occupying that space.

"You know, we are having vandals coming in and out; probably kids are setting fires and it is a very dangerous situation," said Yauger. "Not only for the people who are inside of there, but it becomes that way for us too. Having to deal with it. "

Yauger said there was no one inside of the building when they arrived.

The vacant building is in an overgrown wooded area.   

Yauger said the fire department had a hard time getting to the burning structure.  

Once the firefighters were there, they had to make it down into the basement.

"There were two different rooms in the basement where kids have been down there and there are shelving and other various material down there that was burnable and that they set on fire," Yauger said.

The fire department wants the community to understand that vacant structures are dangerous and setting them on fire can cause many problems.