Local firefighters are responding to a blaze at the Old California Restaurant, a former sandwich shop that has been closed for several years on East Main Street, Grass Valley.

East Main Street is closed to traffic between Bennett Street and the roundabout at Idaho-Maryland Road, according to police.

"The road is expected to be closed for several hours. Motorists traveling in

this area should find alternative routes," police said.

A man living on the third floor of the four-story wooden building was helped out after inhaling smoke. Family members met him and were believed to be taking him to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. His name was not immediately available.

No one else was in the structure at the time the fire started just before 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Grass Valley resident Michael Bozarth was heading to the Post Office in downtown Grass Valley at about 4 p.m. when he saw signs of the fire.

“We went to the Post Office, and you could see the smoke coming out of (the building) pretty good, and when we were back on the freeway, you could see all kinds of flames coming out the side,” Bozarth said.

He described the fire as burning the deck and coming from the left side of the building's exterior.

“It looks like it started down the hill,” Bozarth added.