SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- Firefighters battled a fire at an abandoned Springfield hospital Thursday and police are searching for high schoolers they believe may be responsible.

Fire crews arrived at the abandoned Vibra Hospital around noon and used aerial ladders to battle the fire on the fourth floor. Smoke poured out the side of the building, but crews contained the fire and prevented it from spreading to other parts of the hospital.

Springfield Fire Commissioner BJ Calvi has previously called the abandoned hospital a “firefighter killer” given its poor condition. The hospital officially closed in 2023, but has been subject to repeated vandalism and squatters who, according to fire officials, have set fires there before.

Calvi said they believe the fire was started by high schoolers. Crews saw them running across the fifth floor, so they elevated to a three-alarm fire in order to try to catch those who set it off. He added, while his crews were working on containing the scene, the suspects were still inside and they were not caught. “We know they’re still in there. We can hear them, but they’re hiding from us in there,” Calvi explained. “So, it’s a game of cat and mouse right now. We’ve got police around the building trying to catch them when they come out, but it was a very dangerous situation for everybody involved today.”

There were no reported injuries to any of the firefighters or anyone around the area. No one has been detained in connection with the fire.

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