ELKINS, W.Va. — Fire Chief Steve Himes says an investigation is underway into what caused an industrial fire at a storage site Monday.
Himes said firefighters remained at the Livingston Avenue site Tuesday afternoon watching for the possibility that the blaze could reignite.
Meanwhile, investigators are trying to find out what started the fire. It’s a large area to investigate, Himes said.
“It kind of looks like four buildings that were all connected,” Himes said. “It’s about 45,000-square feet.”
The fire was at the former site of Kitzmiller Lumber which Himes said is being used for storage by Hammer Pellet Fuel.
“It is now owned by Hammer Pellet Fuel and they were using it all for storage,” Himes said. “It is none of their production facilities.”
Himes said firefighters from three counties helped battle the blaze. He said they also had to battle windy conditions.
“We did have a couple exposure fires from flying embers, debris and those kinds of things but those were diagnosed, discovered and extinguished quickly,” Himes said.
The hot temperatures were also a challenge for firefighters but the size of the fire prevented crews from going inside the buildings which would have been even hotter.
“The temperatures and the weather were a challenge in and of themselves,” Himes said.
No damage estimate is available at this time.