Akron firefighters battled a large blaze Wednesday night at an abandoned building formerly occupied by Ace Rubber Co. on Beech Street in Akron’s Cascade Valley neighborhood north of downtown.

Flames were still visible Thursday morning, and firefighters were still on the scene.

Fire officials were not concerned that anyone was injured in the fire and were not aware of any stored materials in the building that could be hazardous.

A fire continues to burn at the old Ace Rubber Co. building behind the Interbelt Night Club at the dead end of Beech Street Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
A fire continues to burn at the old Ace Rubber Co. building behind the Interbelt Night Club at the dead end of Beech Street Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
A fire continues to burn at the old Ace Rubber Co. building behind the Interbelt Night Club at the dead end of Beech Street Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
A fire continues to burn at the old Ace Rubber Co. building behind the Interbelt Night Club at the dead end of Beech Street Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
A fire continues to burn at the old Ace Rubber Co. building behind the Interbelt Night Club at the dead end of Beech Street Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
A fire continues to burn at the old Ace Rubber Co. building behind the Interbelt Night Club at the dead end of Beech Street Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
A fire continues to burn at the old Ace Rubber Co. building behind the Interbelt Night Club at the dead end of Beech Street Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
A fire continues to burn at the old Ace Rubber Co. building behind the Interbelt Night Club at the dead end of Beech Street Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
A fire continues to burn at the old Ace Rubber Co. building behind the Interbelt Night Club at the dead end of Beech Street Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)
A fire continues to burn at the old Ace Rubber Co. building behind the Interbelt Night Club at the dead end of Beech Street Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Akron. (Kassi Filkins / Signal Akron)

Multimedia reporter/producer (she/her)
Kassi Filkins strives to be an active part of whatever community she finds herself in and joins Signal Akron in its mission to bring accessible and community-focused news to all Akronites.

Kassi was born and raised in Central Ohio and is a photojournalism graduate of Kent State University. She was a staff member at the Southeast Missourian and the Hartford Courant before working in non-profit communications.

Kassi lives in Highland Square and enjoys local coffee shops, walking along trails in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and hanging out with her dogs, cat and husband.

Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.