Firefighters are on the scene of a building blaze in southwest Birmingham.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service was dispatched at 12:15 p.m. Monday to the 1000 block of Elm Street, which is off Jefferson Avenue.

Battalion Chief Clay Hendon said firefighters arrived to find heavy fire and smoke coming from the building. There was roof collapse, he said.

Authorities said the building, which is on a dead-end street in a residential neighborhood, has been vacant for at least six years. There are no utilities inside the building, so it wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the blaze.

A search of the building turned up no one inside, though people have been known to seek shelter in there.

An hour after the fire was reported, flames still could be seen coming through the roof.

Hendon said firefighters will remain on the scene for an undetermined amount of time.

It is the second large fire in less than 24 hours at a vacant building.

On Sunday, a fire near downtown Birmingham sent a plume of smoke over the city.

“We’ve had too many of these lately,’’ Hendon said.