State fire officials say firefighting efforts aimed at extinguishing a five-alarm blaze that gutted a major downtown Springfield building on Tuesday also damaged the adjacent Lincoln Block.
A regional manager with the state Division of Fire Safety Bruce Martin says water ended up in the basement of the Lincoln Block and that the people who live in it will be out of their homes until next week at the earliest.
Eighteen-year-old Jon Gassert, of Springfield is charged with setting the fire in the Ellis Block. Gassert pleaded not guilty in court Thursday.
Police say he started the fire in a bathroom after being told recently he would be evicted.