Photo by Derek Redd Firefighters battle a blaze Friday night at Wilson Furniture in Bridgeport.

BRIDGEPORT — Firefighters from multiple departments battled a large fire on the upper floors of Wilson Furniture Store long into Friday night. The smoke was visible from the Ohio 7 overpass, and hoses sprayed jets of water from ladder trucks above and the street below.

Sales manager Carol Saffield observed the blaze from across the street. She said there was a brick firewall about one foot thick between the section where the fire was raging and the rest of the building. She has worked at the store for 18 years.

“It’s devastating because it’s Christmastime and people want to buy and shop, and we’ve been in business 125 years. We started in 1895. Five generations of Wilsons, and this is the first time something like this major has ever happened,” she said. “We’re a sturdy group of people. We’re a good family. We’re all family. The Wilsons treat the employees like solid family.”

Owner Jason Wilson arrived at the site and was able to enter the side of the store briefly.

“We don’t know for sure exactly where we are,” Wilson said. “Obviously it’s tragic. Our family’s legacy of 124 years of business here in Bridgeport is obviously in jeopardy at the moment. Obviously the livelihoods of our employees are first and foremost, the safety of the volunteer … firefighters more importantly.

“We don’t know exactly what’s happened so far and we’re going to look and see, but … we appreciate all the support of the first responders that are here,” he continued. “To my knowledge, nobody was in the building and obviously there’s extensive damage, but those are things we’re going to assess and figure out where we go. We’ll figure out what we can do today and tomorrow.”

Bridgeport Fire Chief Mark Subasic said he was too busy to comment Friday night, other than to say no one was hurt. The temperature was low, exacerbated by the nearby Ohio River, and ice could be observed on the brim of Subasic’s helmet. Water ran down the street froze in treacherous patches of black ice.

The Salvation Army was also on-scene to provide comfort to the firefighters.