TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A major fire erupted at Kaohsiung's Pier-2 Art Center at 1 a.m. Tuesday morning (March 9), forcing the fire department to dispatch 36 fire trucks and 78 firefighters to tackle the blaze.

After receiving calls, the Kaohsiung City Fire Department rushed to the intersection of Xinhua Street and Dayong Road in Yancheng District and extinguished the fire after a two-hour effort. It said that the conflagration apparently erupted at the Bicycle Warehouse, which typically serves as an exhibition area and large indoor bazaar.

While the cause has yet to be determined, no casualties were reported. Around 1,200 square meters were damaged by the flames, and nearly the entire building was compromised.

Since the Bicycle Warehouse is close to residences and the city's light rail line, the fire caused some panic in the surrounding neighborhood. Many residents were forced to move their vehicles and leave their houses.

A few people living in the area shared photos of the fire on Facebook. One said he was woken up by the fire truck sirens in the middle of the night, while another said she had seen the roof of the warehouse collapse less than an hour after the fire began.

During a media interview, Pier-2 Operation Center director Wang Hui-lin (王慧琳) explained that the Kaohsiung Cultural Affairs Bureau had rented the Bicycle Warehouse from a local resident and that it will seek to repair the damage. She added that there was no exhibition at the warehouse this week, so only the structure of the building was affected by the blaze.

(Facebook, 爆廢公社二館 photo)

(Facebook, 爆廢公社二館 photo館)

(Facebook, 爆廢公社二館 photo)

(Facebook, 爆廢公社二館 photo)