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Building along Main Street catches fire, property owner Collins Temple subject of many 2 On Your Side reports

2 hours 54 minutes 46 seconds ago Tuesday, November 04 2025 Nov 4, 2025 November 04, 2025 10:57 PM November 04, 2025 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - On Tuesday afternoon, fire crews put out a fire on Main Street at an adult care facility. The property belongs to Collis Temple Jr., a property owner covered extensively by Brittany Weiss’ 2 On Your Side reports.

The fire happened at Maxima Industries, an adult day center for people with developmental delays. Temple said Maxima Industries differs from the Harmony Center, where Temple is the CEO.

"This is a day program, Harmony Center is a facility where we house people. This facility is where people come to day activities services," Temple said.

WBRZ previously reported on multiple properties owned by Temple, including a dilapidated home where a blind man was living without running water on East Boulevard. While responding to Tuesday's fire, WBRZ asked Temple for an update on those properties.

"We put new roofs on them, on all three properties. We put new roofs on them. They're in the process of being remodeled," Temple said.

Maxima is the second reported fire at a Temple property this year. A home on Longfellow Drive caught fire in January. It was later ruled an arson. After a series of 2 On Your Side reports, the home was torn down in April.

The Baton Rouge Fire Department said the building on Main Street was occupied when the fire started.

"The few guys that were left were in the process of being picked up and taken home, so nobody was in the building," Temple said.

Michael Sanders witnessed the fire and called 911.

"We noticed that smoke was coming out of the roof area," Sanders said. "There was smoke everywhere, fire was everywhere within the building, no way to get inside."

BRFD said firefighters arrived to the property to find flames coming from a storage shed. Some residents worried the fire could spread to the neighboring school Sacred Heart.

"I could see the flames as I was turning onto Government. I said something is on fire, and I hope it's not the school," caretaker Stella Spears said.

The fire department said no one was injured. Just after 6 p.m., fire crews began packing their gear up, and investigators started their work to determine what started the fire. As of Tuesday night, no cause has been determined.

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