First responders battle early morning blaze near Four Winds Field

The flames engulfing what had already been built at Stadium Flats apartments, hours before a groundbreaking ceremony was set to take place.

The call for this intense blaze came in around midnight, and South Bend police and fire crews were on scene at Stadium Flats Apartments within minutes, partially thanks to the proximity of both stations.

Assistant fire chief Derek Erquhart telling ABC57 the amount of wood at the construction site helped feed the flames.

"It was type 5 wood frame construction, so a lot of lumber. The heat was very intense, is what the firefighters were dealing with when they arrived, and considering the conditions on arrival, at that point, we were considering that initial, that building that was under construction essentially a loss, and our priority, when we arrived on scene, was protecting the structures around there," said SBFD Assistant Chief Derek Erquhart.

The extreme flames caused some damage to the exterior of Diamond View apartments next door.

The sign for the South Bend Cubs performance center was also damaged, with pieces of the sign melting off.

"Got the call, myself and our general manager Nick Brown rushed to the stadium just to make sure everything was okay here, talked to the fire department, checked on the performance center and everything seems to be good other than damage to the outside of the building," said Joe Hart, South Bend Cubs president.

The fire was under control by around 2 a.m., thanks to the efforts of 24 units and 55 firefighters.

Stadium Flats is owned by Real America LLC, and received nearly 23 million dollars from South Bend's low-income housing tax credit.

The company's president telling ABC57 he's grateful for the first responders, and also that the building process wasn't further along.

"I want to make people absolutely aware of is just how appreciative and thankful we are for the first responders, south bend fire department did an amazing job, they're truly heroes. This could've been at the finishing stages, there could've been flooring, cabinets, appliances, we could've been much further along which would've been much more significant," said Mike Surak, Real America LLC president.

Chief Erquhart says he's thankful no one was injured in this fire -- while he and his crew are now focused on the next steps.

"The crane that is still on site for this construction project, so we have been working with ownership, trying to get that crane company out there to basically start that process of the removal, if need be, just because we can't really get into the debris pile from the fire to start that investigation until that crane is taken care of," said Assistant Chief Erquhart.

The South Bend Cubs host game 2 of the Midwest League divisional playoffs Thursday night at 7:05 p.m.

This stretch of South Lafayette Boulevard between West South Street and West Monroe Avenue will be closed for the foreseeable future, so the team is asking fans to use alternate routes to get to Four Winds Field.