The Georgia has been a neighborhood crime issue for some time. Photo by Michael Bushnell

Fire broke out this morning a little after 8 a.m. at an abandoned apartment building at 5208 Independence Avenue.

Kansas City Missouri firefighters (KCFD) responded to the two-alarm blaze. According to a source on the scene, one person was rescued from a third-floor window on the west side of the structure. The fire seems to have originated in a second-floor unit on the east side of the building. Firefighters had more trouble with the demolition fencing than they did with the fire, they told the Northeast News.

The building, named The Georgia, has been the source of a number of issues related to crime and public safety in the community. The building has been boarded up for approximately five months but continues to draw squatters.

According to a KCFD chief on the scene, it’s at least the second fire in five months at the building due to squatters.

Fire investigators are on the scene to determine an official cause of the fire. The rescued party refused medical treatment at the scene.