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Early morning blaze damages downtown building
A downtown building at 110 N. Main, on the corner of Main and Jackson Street, was heavily damaged in a fire Thursday night that apparently was triggered by faulty wiring.
Fire crews were called out just before 5 a.m. when several passersby called county dispatch to report smoke pouring from vents and mortar in the stonework at the top of the building.
Fire crews were quickly able to bring the blaze under control, containing it to the roof area just above the interior ceiling. Fire Chief Phil Gridley said it appeared the entire roof would have to be replaced and estimated total damage at $30,000.
Several of the beams in the ceiling could be seen through the charred 10-foot-hole in the ceiling to have burned clean through.
An unusual combination of events apparently triggered the fire, based on the initial investigation. According to Gridley, when lines had been run from a nearby power pole to
the building's power-line weatherhead Thursday, the neutral line "had been wired hot." The electricity then went down the metal conduit into the building, to the gas furnace, then up the gas line conduit into the ceiling, where it began arcing adjacent to one of the wood ceiling beams. That arcing eventually sparked the fire.
There was no gas in the gas line, Gridley said, "otherwise, we might have had a real mess." No adjacent buildings were threatened by the fire, which heavily damaged the roof area.
Friday morning, crews investigating the blaze noticed a small amount of smoke still coming from the roof area and recalled fire trucks to make sure any hot spots were completely out.
The building was undergoing renovation in anticipation of a new small business opening in the location Monday."Obviously, that's not going to happen, now," Gridley said. It was not immediately known what alternative the business owners, who were tenants of the building, were contemplating.