HOUSTON -- A three-alarm fire ripped through a northeast Houston warehouse on Thursday morning, KPRC Local 2 reported.

The fire broke out at the Amtech recycling plant on Old Clinton Road near Lockwood Drive at about 5:30 a.m.

The building's roof and some of the walls collapsed.

"The building is folding in just like it's supposed to," District Chief Tommy Dowdy said.

Crews said the warehouse was the size of two city blocks and was 80 percent filled with paper and plastic.

"Because all of the materials are compacted so they can be transported or handled, it makes it a little difficult to get the water inside the actual packaging," Assistant Chief Kevin Alexander said.

Thick, black smoke could be seen for miles.

Truck driver John Richard was outside the warehouse when the fire started. He was asleep and was scheduled to make an early morning delivery to the warehouse. He described what he saw when he woke up.

"About as high as the building and the smoke going up in the air," he said.

Employees said they are trying to determine what's next after the fire decimated the building.

Several roads in the area were blocked off to traffic. Railroad traffic running through the area was temporarily halted.

Houston Independent School District officials said parents of Pugh Elementary students were allowed to pick up their children if they do not feel comfortable because the fire occurred near the school. Classes at the school are in session as normal, but students who are taken home will not be marked absent for the day.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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