MYRTLE BEACH — Myrtle Beach firefighters battled an early morning blaze Thursday at Time Out nightclub in downtown Myrtle Beach.

The fire started around 3:23 a.m. in the second floor of the nightclub building, which is located at 520 Eighth Ave. N. in the superblock area near the former Pavilion Amusement Park site.

Lt. Christian Sliker of the Myrtle Beach Fire Department said there was heavy fire and smoke when firefighters first got to the scene. He said there was extensive damage to the second floor and no fire damage on the first floor, although the first floor did sustain water damage from fighting the fire.

No one was in the building at the time.

Owner Ken Eschenbach was on the scene and said the club has been in operation for 23 years.

“It’s a shock,” said Eschenbach, who said he can’t even begin to think about what he will do down the road.

Sliker said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Contact VICKI GROOMS at 443-2401 or follow her at Twitter.com/TSN_VickiGrooms.