Crews battled a large fire on East Main Street in Waterbury Friday.
The smoke from the fire could be seen billowing into the sky.
Ralph Monti, who identified himself as the owner of the building, said one person lives there, but no one was hurt in the fire.
"How'd you like me...I'm having dinner with the building inspector tonight and then he gets the call - there's a building on fire in downtown Waterbury tonight. Where's that? Huh? it belonged to me," he said.
Monti said the bottle floor functions as a hospitality center for the homeless and they had plans to rehab the building before the fire started.
He said the center gives the homeless a place to do things like shower, wash their clothes and use a computer.
“We’re not going to give up. We’re going to fix it," Monti said.
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Monti said one person lives in the building, but he was not home at the time of the fire. The top floors are vacant.
The center is run by the Center for Human Development, according to Monti. He said that he owns other buildings in the area and will offer one of them as a temporary center.
More details about the fire were not immediately available.
NBC Connecticut has a crew on scene and will provide updates as they come into the newsroom.
