Crews battle fire at Woodward Bar & Grill in New Center area

Detroit — Firefighters spent hours battling a blaze Tuesday at a building that houses the famed Woodward Bar & Grill in the city's New Center area.

The three-alarm fire was in a commercial building in the 6000 block of Woodward near Harper. Severe damage could be seen to the establishment, a local bar/club that caters to the LGBTQ community.

"Our thoughts are with the owners and staff at The Woodward Bar in Detroit. One of the oldest LGBT spaces in the State of Michigan is on fire, and they will need our support in the coming days," tweeted the LGBTA+ Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party.

Firefighters received a call about the fire at about 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to the fire department.

Nearly 100 personnel responded to the blaze and remained through 6 p.m. tending to hotspots, said James Harris, chief public information officer for the Detroit Fire Department.

"We had a lot of manpower," he said.

No injuries were reported.

While the bar itself appears to be a total loss, Harris added, "we were able to save the buildings next door."

The cause remains under investigation, he said. "We’re going to do a thorough investigation once we have all the hotspots extinguished."

The fire also prompted officials for the QLine, the streetcar loop that runs on Woodward from downtown to the New Center and the North End, to shut down the transit system, the service said in a tweet.