MONROE - Monroe village was lit up on Saturday evening, but the occasion was all Grinch as fire engines from four neighboring towns descended on a mystery blaze near the center of town and joined Monroe firefighters in battling the fire.

The two-story commercial building at 15 Swan Lake Ave. caught fire around 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 20. It is co-owned by Matthew Powers and Adam Vogel, and serves as a workshop and garage for their general contracting business. 

“The first units came on scene and saw a flame in the building,” said Monroe Fire Chief Ken Clements. “It apparently suffocated itself because it died down, but there was extensive smoke and water damage and some structure damage.”

The building is located diagonally across the street from the Monroe Fire Department. Firefighters from Brooks, Frankfort Village, West Frankfort and Jackson also came to the scene bringing a total of eight large fire trucks into the tight quarters of the town center. Swan Lake Avenue was effectively closed for a time Saturday evening.

Despite the quick suffocation of the fire described by Clements, smoke continued to pour from a window on the second floor. By 7:30 p.m. some firefighters began to leave the scene.

Clements said the cause of the fire was unknown. He anticipated an investigator from the state Fire Marshal’s Office would come to look at the scene on Sunday.

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com