BATON ROUGE — The Baton Rouge Fire Department has determined that the fire at the former OYO Hotel, on Mead Road, on Wednesday was intentionally set and has been classified as arson, the department announced Thursday morning. 

Baton Rouge Fire crews responded to the old OYO Hotel, which was in the process of being demolished, with 43 firefighters around 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday—just hours before Mayor-President Sid Edwards was set to speak at the building about his ongoing campaign against blighted properties in the parish.

When crews arrived, they found smoke and flames coming from an open area on the building's second floor. The front of the building was already removed as part of the demolition process. By 6:43 a.m., crews put out the fire from the ground before making their way upstairs to put out remaining hot spots.

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact the BRFD Fire Investigations Division at 225-389-2050 or Baton Rouge Area Crime Stoppers at 225-344-STOP (7867).