A WAREHOUSE BUILDING BUILT MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO IN ELYRIA, OHIO, just west of Cleveland, burned down Thursday morning.

The huge brick structure covered several city blocks and was only partly occupied. Nearly 200 firefighters from 22 surrounding areas were called in to help with the main strategy to contain the fire to the warehouse.  Flying embers were a strong consideration as the FD’s asked the residents in the area to evacuate until the fire threat was over.

Eventually, the walls collapsed in parts of the building and it is a total loss.  The cause is not known.

The Morning Journal has the STORY.
WOIO-TV has seven video reports HERE.

A CLUSTER OF ARSONS IN ALTENKUNSTADT, BAVARIA, GERMANY Wednesday morning kept more than 200 volunteer firefighters busy in the heart of town.  Shortly after midnight a call came in for an auto fire that was quickly knocked down by a policeman before the VFD got on the scene.

While they were investigating the auto, about 10 minutes later a large trash container on a neighboring street was set alight.  The feuerwehrmans (firefighters) redeployed quickly and put it out in short order.  But only 2 minutes after that came a call for a barn fire just 600 feet away.

When they arrived there were two barns fully involved and a house close by was threatened.  Extra alarms were called to contain the fire, save the house and evacuate nearby residents.  The FF’s also managed to save some horses from one of the barns.

A local brewery, the Leikeim Brewery, is also next door to the barns and there was a fear that it would be lost, too.  They did manage to save the brewhouse, but the fire destroyed the building housing their electric generator and all the coolers in the lagering house shut down.  This resulted in the spoiling of more than a thousand gallons of unfinished beer which had to be dumped.  Leikeim had enough finished stock on hand, however, to maintain deliveries until they get the coolers running again.

Leikeim Brewery power house

Fire officials are crediting the lack of any wind during the night helping them contain the fire to the point of origin and not spreading through the town.  Property damages are estimated to exceed $1.25 million.  Police are actively seeking the arsonist.

The point of origin in the barn at lower left.  The house
was remarkably saved just as the fire was beginning
to spread into it.  The brewery power house is
just out of sight at lower right.

 
The Altenkunstadt Feuerwehr made a terrific stop.

The Coburg Neue Presse has the story and more photos HERE.
Leikeim Brewery WEBSITE.

Hat tip to Christian L.

IN A CONTINUING EFFORT TO SEE THAT THERE WILL ALWAYS be a need for a fire department, some Kaysville, Utah, teens set their house on fire Tuesday night.

Taking a lesson from the big-city Yuppies who throw their fireplace ashes into their plastic trash cans during the winter,  this pair started off the Independence Day celebrations early by discarding their spent fireworks in the family trash can.

KTVX

Fortunately the trash can was just outside the garage instead of inside when it ignited, sending flames up the exterior of the house and lighting up Dad’s pickup truck and the family’s camper.  The sound of one of the tires blowing woke up the family just before the upstairs eaves took off.

The FD handled it easily, extinguishing the fire before it spread too far through the house.  Even though a corner of the house was burned off, the truck destroyed and their camping trailer heavily damaged, the homeowner called it “a learning experience.”

KTVX Salt Lake Ch. 4 has a video report:

FIRE IN A CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA, PET STORE early Wednesday morning killed hundreds of animals and spread to two other businesses in the small strip shopping center.

WRTV / Bushong photo

The FD was alerted to the call shortly after 3:30 am and found a working fire in the pet shop.  For about 30 minutes they were able to work the fire inside.  When the building became untenable they pulled out and with the assistance of four other fire departments they covered the fire from the outside.

The fire had spread into the next unit which was a fireworks retail shop and also a tax preparer office in the next space to it.  When the fireworks store became fully involved there was a show for sure and the FD evacuated some nearby homes as a precaution.  Fire officials believe that the fire started in the pet store which was populated with cats, fish, birds, snakes and other typical small pets.

WRTV has a video report:

Firegeezer wonders about this center occupancy selling fireworks.  In most states fireworks vendors must operate in free-standing structures.

A GARAGE FILLED WITH ILLEGAL FIREWORKS THAT WERE being “improved” caught on fire Tuesday in Butler County, Ohio.  The homeowner had stockpiled hundreds of rockets and other large displays for a neighborhood show on Friday.

WCPO

The fire department was able to knock the fire down quickly and contained it to the garage.

“It just ignited and they were flying all over the place,” said the owner Bill Hengeli. “It was a chain reaction, it was like Fourth of July enclosed in the garage.  I was thinking I was gonna die. I was pinned in the corner, things flying off of me left and right, bouncing. I covered up trying to hide and figured I’m either gonna die sitting here on my butt – or I’m gonna die trying to get out of the garage.”

He got out of the garage without dying, but not without being charged by police for the illegal stockpile.  The fact that the police had been called there last year after neighbors had complained about the garage filled with fireworks then, might not sit too well with the judge when they come to court.

Bill Hengeli, wearing his “Extreme Pyro” T-shirt,
says that he’s finished with fireworks.  (WCPO)

WCPO-TV has the STORY.

This video report from WKRC was made before the police
announced the results of their investigation:

THE YAKIMA VALLEY TOWN OF GRANDVIEW, WASHINGTON, took a major economic hit Tuesday when their largest employer was destroyed in a fire.

Herald-Republic / Courtney photo

Wild River Foods is a plant that processes potatoes into french fries and employees about 150 people working 3 shifts.  Around 9 am the fire broke out at an electric panel and spread quickly through the building.  Not helping matters any were two large vats of peanut oil that is used in the processing.

The plant is a total loss and will cause a serious hardship on the small town’s economy.  Not just the lost wages for all the locals who worked there, but the firm contributed about 10% of the utility tax revenue for the town government.  Already they are looking for some immediate cutbacks in order to compensate for the looming shortfall.

Wild River was preparing to build a second facility nearby that would put an additional 200 people to work.

The Yakima Herald-Republic has the full STORY.

THE LOCKE FIRE DEPARTMENT IN SALISBURY ROWAN COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, had an unexpected 2nd alarm response to a house fire Sunday night.

A lightning strike that burrowed into the laundry room of the Addison family home blew up the garage and started a heavy fire in the house.  The family was home, but they had to run for their lives as the flames raced through the house.

Eugene Addison stands in front of his
2-story home that was destroyed Sunday night.
(Salisbury Post / Hinshaw photo)

The Salisbury Post quotes Mrs. Addison:  “We hit the floor,” Dee said of the actions that she and her daughters, Regina, 17, and Beatrice, 18, took. “It was like a bomb had gone off.”

She said that had they been 10 seconds slower, it’s likely they wouldn’t have made it out with their lives. As it was, no one suffered anything worse than some minor scrapes.  “By the grace of God we got out,” Dee said.

The FD was on the scene at a non-hydrant area within four minutes.  The house was well involved at the time and they special called several tankers to provide the water source.  But then the “2nd alarm” fleet of curious onlookers arrived, following the column of smoke coming from the house.

The dead-end street became so congested with abandoned automobiles left by the gawkers that the next arriving engines and the tankers were never able to make it to the scene.  It took more than 30 minutes for the FF’s to hand-drag supply lines out to the water sources, but by then the house was gone.

Since it is not illegal for people to be tacky and stupid, the police were unable to issue any citations to the dolts who plugged up this poor family’s access to help.

You can read the full story in the Salisbury Post HERE.
Firegeezer thanks FireNews.net for the link and you can also read their report on the house fire itself HERE.

Locke Fire Dept. WEBSITE.

EARLY SUNDAY MORNING NEAR WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, a house suddenly exploded violently and burned down.  The 3 am blast brought the neighbors to their windows and some of them saw a figure running away engulfed in flames.

A trail of bloody, barefoot prints were found leading away from the house and down to a nearby parkland.  Police say that a severely burned youth, age 19, was found about an hour later and taken to the hospital where he later died from his injuries.

The house has been the center of attention before due to a neighborhood conflict involving several homes, some of which are allegedly connected with drug activity.

The victim was identified as the nephew of the owners of the house who were not at home when it blew.  The nephew was reportedly visiting from Nova Scotia.  A man whose yard contains some of the bloody footprints says that he saw a man dressed in black running away from the scene.

It’s hard to tell the players without a scorecard, but the Winnipeg Free Press tries in this report HERE.

A BRUSH FIRE WAS STARTED ABOUT 20 MILES NW OF LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, Saturday when a private airplane crashed onto a mountain.

CBS / Rick Plummer photo

The single-engine Piper Cherokee had four people on board and was flying from North Las Vegas to Byron, California, when it struck a power line and crashed.  All four passengers perished when the plane hit and broke into flames at the 7,000 ft. level of Mt. Charleston.

CBS / Plummer

Fire officials say the fire spread and climbed the steep and parched terrain of the Spring Mountain Recreation Area and came within a half-mile of a housing subdivision.  Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon says nearly 40 homes are threatened by the 12-acre fire.

CBS / Plummer 

Authorities have ordered an evacuation of the subdivision. They expect to fully contain the blaze by 6 p.m. Sunday.

Fox News has the STORY.
Las Vegas Channel 8 has a video REPORT.

A MAJOR FIRE IN A SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX has destroyed three businesses.  The fire began Saturday evening just before 8 pm Mountain time when a grass fire migrated into the industrial park.

KSL-TV

Fire officials believe that a passing train sparked a fire in the dry grass which rapidly spread.  With nobody working in the area, there was no alarm sounded until the fire got ahold of the buildings that housed a pallet manufacturing firm, an insulation company, and a metals recycling plant.

KSL-TV

Along with the large stocks of wooden pallets, there were several truck trailers parked alongside the buildings and the interiors had many propane tanks inside.  When the FD arrived, the propane tanks were already exploding and the response was quickly upgraded to four alarms.  The high outdoor temperature brought the need for extra help to rotate crews.

The Salt Lake Tribune has the STORY.
KSL-TV has more and a good VIDEO.

KTVX Ch. 4 filed this video report: