Saturday just before 7 p.m., firefighters arrived on the western corner of North Erwin Street and West Main Street in Cartersville in response of reports of a fire.

According to Cartersville Fire Chief Scott Carter, as of 10:20 p.m. Saturday there were no injuries on the scene.

"No one was inside," he said. "This building has been vacant for some time." The building was previously home to Moon River Cafe and Brewery.

Units arrived from the Cartersville Fire Department and the Bartow County Fire Department, with 25 firefighters on the scene. As of press time the fire department was unaware of the cause of the fire.

The firefighters began with an attack on the interior before having to switch methods.

"Around 9:45 p.m. we wound up having to go into what we call defensive mode," Carter said. "The structure is simply too dangerous to maintain ... so now we go defensive. We're going to extinguish the fire from the outside to try to get a grip on it."

"We're in defensive model now to protect the integrity of the rest of the block," he said. "This particular building here was built in 1888. Its been remodeled so many different times -- that's been part of the hindrance in the firefight. When we get into the base of the fire we run into another hidden wall reconstructed over the years. It's just a very complicated old building."

"At this moment it looks as though we're gaining some headway," Carter said. "I would say we're going to be here with it until the early hours of the morning anyway."

Carter said he believes the structure will be a total loss.