LITCHFIELD — A three-alarm fire destroyed a Litchfield real estate business early Sunday morning, and fire crews continued to search for the cause of the blaze, fire officials said.

Midway Fire Rescue spokesman Bob Beebe said firefighters from multiple agencies responded to the fire at James W. Smith Real Estate Co., located at 13336 Ocean Highway, early Sunday morning to combat the fire.

Firefighters received the call around 2 a.m. and the fire was under control by about 8 a.m., Beebe said. He said the last truck left the scene at about 1 p.m. as some firefighters stayed longer to make sure all small fires within the structure had been extinguished.

Crews had to close Ocean Highway in both directions for a period of time while they worked to get the fire under control. The fire had been contained by about 5:45 a.m., according to Beebe.

Fire investigators continued Monday to search for the cause of the blaze, but encountered some difficulty since the building had collapsed, Beebe said about 8:30 a.m. Monday. Contact MAYA T. PRABHU at 444-1722 or follow her at Twitter.com/TSN_MPrabhu.