A blaze at 39-41 King Street North filled the Uptown Waterloo area with smoke as firefighters tried to control the flames.

Fire crews responded to the building, which houses Ish and Chips and a vacant convenience store shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday.

Smoke from the fire was reportedly visible from as far away as the Weber Street and Bridgeport Road area.

It took firefighters several hours to get the flames under control, and they are expected to continue to douse hotspots the building into the night.

Early into the evening they were also working to ensure the historic clock tower and a tattoo shop in the building next door, just south of where the fire originated, stayed safe.

King Street North was closed in the area of Dupont Street as firefighters dealt with the fire and a large crowd looked on as the drama unfolded.

John Percy of Waterloo Fire, says “Obviously the number one priority for us, is when we go to a fire of this magnitude, is everyone out, is everyone taken care of. We’re very fortunate to say that we have no injuries, all our firefighters are okay.”

There were people inside the building when the fire broke out, including a manager and employees at Ish and Chips.

Employee Patricia Rembiszewska says they smelled smoke coming from the back of the convenience store.

“I just ran out, left all my things, my coworker he actually saved all my things. It was just full of smoke we couldn’t get out of there, we finally did…when it was actually happening I was shaking, my throat was full of smoke, it’s hard.”

The manager tells CTV News he’s still waiting to hear what the extent of the damage is to the two-year-old business.

This is the third fire in Uptown Waterloo recently, but it’s unclear if they are all connected.

Percy says “It’s very hard to tell, that will be part of our fire investigation to see if we can piece it together, but we’ve got to wait until all this smoke and firefighters are done behind us.”

The roof of the building has partially collapsed, and while there is no exact damage estimate available, early reports indicate it could be more than half-a-million dollars.