ST. LOUIS - A large vacant warehouse damaged from a fire near the St. Louis Riverfront is raising concerns.

The warehouse is still standing days after the fire, and smoke was seen billowing out for quite some time. Firefighters say it's current state has led to some new concerns.

Windy conditions Tuesday blew warning signs and cones over at Broadway North of Downtown St. Louis. Access to the warehouse is blocked near the Stan Musial Veteran’s Memorial Bridge.

“You have a cold storage warehouse,” says Garon Patrick Mosby, Saint Louis Fire Captain.  “A building meant to keep things cold. It’s basically a huge refrigerator. So, there’s insulation. No windows. You have open elevator shafts. That building was charged full of smoke, so [it affects] your visibility. It’s a nightmare situation for firefighters and firefighting.”

On Tuesday, the former cold storage facility was slowly razed. Buildings not in use, like this, are a cause for concern for St. Louis firefighters.

Fire crews also responded to a large fire Saturday night in the 1400 block of Grand. No one was injured. But now, that building and others join a list of thousands: Unoccupied, crumbling apart, and a danger to all.

“If you have high winds like we do today,” says Mosby. “High winds help to accelerate the growth of fire.”

On Tuesday afternoon, with wind speeds reaching 30 miles an hour, the conditions were a dangerous reminder that the seasonal change is only going to get more dangerous for first responders.

“We’ve had a number of grass and vegetation and rubbish fires,” says Mosby. “A simple flick of a cigarette and you’ve got a rubbish fire. As the temperatures decline, our fires in vacant buildings increase.”