Yesterday, Indianapolis firefighters spent the afternoon wrestling with a major blaze at the former Washington Street Flea Market on the city’s east side, after flames punched through the roof and sent a thick column of smoke drifting over nearby neighborhoods. Crews managed to bring the fire under control in about an hour and a half, and officials reported no injuries.
According to WTHR, a passerby flagged down a firetruck to report the building burning near North Arlington Street and Shadeland Avenue, triggering a fast, heavy response. The Indianapolis Fire Department sent 23 units to the 6400 block of East Washington Street, where crews arrived to find intense fire already tearing through the roof. WTHR reports that photos from the scene, credited to IFD, show firefighters working from multiple angles as officials confirmed the blaze was under control after roughly ninety minutes.
What crews did on scene
Firefighters focused first on knocking down the main body of the fire while making sure the flames did not jump to nearby buildings. Crews used ladder trucks to pour water from above and hose lines on the ground in an exterior-to-interior push, then moved in to hunt for hot spots that could spark a rekindle. Throughout the response, the department said there were no reported injuries to civilians or firefighters.
Investigation and local context
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, officials told WTHR. Vacant commercial properties along East Washington have seen their share of major fires in recent years, including a 2025 blaze at a former Marsh supermarket that was engulfed in flames, and those histories can complicate origin investigations as teams work through debris and limited access points. City and state investigators are expected to comb through the scene and release their findings once they have more information.
Officials are asking anyone who has information, photos, or video from around the time of the fire to contact investigators through the usual city channels. Traffic and visibility in the area took a hit while crews worked the scene, but conditions returned to normal after firefighters wrapped up operations and secured the site.
