MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Two people were hospitalized following a former furniture store fire in Merced on Monday, the Merced Fire Department said. Firefighters say they responded to a structure fire at the former Minerva Furniture building located at 16th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way on Monday at 11:15 a.m. Upon arrival, crews say the building was already on fire upon arrival, which prompted a multi-engine response with assistance from Cal Fire. A person was rescued from the second floor, and several people, who firefighters say were unhoused, were seen leaving the building. According to the Fire Department, the people inside the building were not authorized to be inside it. As a result of the fire, two people were transported to a local hospital and their status is unknown. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.