Volunteer firefighters in Chile were able to save the 150-year-old Teatro Municipal de Santiago from a raging fire. The firefighters were alerted of the fire at the national monument at 2 p.m. on Monday and worked for several hours to extinguish them, The Santiago Times reported.

The flames destroyed about 10 percent of the 19th century building, but otherwise left the national landmark unscratched. Captain Mauricio Repetto spoke to The Santiago Times about how difficult it was to fight the fire.

“The most difficult part was the confined spaces--these really narrow interior hallways and lofts and attic spaces that the fire spread through,” he said. “Materials in the dressing room produced a lot of smoke, which made it hard to reach the flames.”

According to Chilean publication La Tercera, 250 volunteer firefighters from 16 firefighting companies worked for over four hours to put out the fire. The fire began around 1 p.m on the second floor before spreading to the third floor.

Firefighters were forced to come in through the roof of the building and put out the fire room by room, Repetto told La Tercera. The captain told reporters that the cause of the fire remained unknown, but that it was not an electrical problem because improvements had recently been made.

La Tercera reported that at least six shows of “El Quijote” were cancelled due to the fire. Director Andrés Rodríguez told reporters that the historic theater would remain closed until next week. In a statement released by the city, Rodríguez said, “Because the theater was built in 1863, the entire structure sits on top of the central space and above the stage there is very old flammable wood. It’s a very delicate space, so it’s very lucky flames did not reach it -- that would have been a national tragedy.”

At least 150 pieces of wardrobe for “El Quijote” were destroyed, with a similar number of pieces destroyed for the show “Carmina Burana,” which was set to begin on Nov. 26.

No injuries were reported, despite 200 people being in the building at the time of the fire, La Tercera reported. Officials declined to release estimates of the damage, but told reporters that funds were secured.