Trustee says cause of Kingsville garage fire may never be known
By MARK TODD mtodd@starbeacon.com
20 hrs ago
KINGSVILLE TOWNSHIP, OHIO — Investigators continue to examine the scene of a Friday morning fire that destroyed Kingsville Township's road department garage and its fleet of vehicles, but an the blaze's exact cause may remain undetermined, Dennis Huey, township trustee, said Monday.
"It's the opinion of many the fire began in the (garage) addition, but we may never really know what started it," he said.
Firefighters from five departments were dispatched to the garage, located on Cemetery Road a short distance from Route 193, at 4:37 a.m. Friday. The original garage, built in 1961 was gutted, while an addition constructed in the rear in the 1980's was completely leveled.
An insurance adjuster was on scene Monday to begin assessing the dollar damage inflicted by the fire. The township lost its entire road and maintenance fleet to the blaze, including three dump trucks, a backhoe, front-end loader and mowing equipment.
On Friday, Neal Stewart, township fire chief and road superintendent, said the township lost "millions" of dollars worth of vehicles, machinery, equipment and tools.
Meanwhile, trustees are fielding numerous calls offering help from a wide range of communities and agencies, Huey said.
"We're getting several offers for free building space" to store equipment as it is replaced, he said. "The Ohio Department of Transportation is willing to loan us two snowplows this winter. We're thankful for all the offers."
The loss of the big trucks is critical because heavy dump trucks are usually built to order, a process that can take many months, township trustees have said. On Monday, Huey said the loan of plows "would be a big bonus."
Trustees have not decided on a course of action, saying more time is needed to assess all the offers of help.
"Everything's still in the works," Huey said. "It's still early. We need to decide which location is the best for the township."
Residents also continue to be helpful, Huey said.
"The community is just shocked," he said. "People have made us all kinds of offers."
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Kingsville Township's garage, equipment destroyed in morning fire
By MARK TODD mtodd@starbeacon.com
Jul 15, 2016
KINGSVILLE TOWNSHIP — The township lost "millions" of dollars worth of equipment and property in an early Friday morning fire.
Neal Stewart is a road superintendent without a department thanks to the blaze, which completely destroyed Kingsville Township's municipal garage and everything inside.
Three dump trucks, a backhoe, front-end loader, mowing equipment and snowplowing gear — along with miscellaneous smaller equipment, hand tools and protective clothing — were wiped out in the blaze, Stewart said.
"There's nothing left," he said Friday at the fire scene. "Everything we had is gone. We're out of business right now. It's a big, big loss."
A damage estimate is pending an inventory of the garage's contents, but Stewart expects the figure to be high because of the loss of so many pieces of heavy equipment.
"In the millions (of dollars)," he said.
The cause is undetermined, but firefighters believe the fire began in the rear of the Cemetery Road building, said Stewart, who also serves as the township's fire chief. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 4:27 a.m.
A series of small explosions awoke neighbors, he said. Personnel and equipment from five other departments — Monroe, Sheffield and Plymouth townships, along with North Kingsville and Fire Station 3 in Conneaut — were sent to the scene, Stewart said. More than 35 firefighters arrived to help.
"By the time everyone got here, (the building) was gone," he said.
The state fire marshal's office is investigating, Stewart said.
The shell of the main garage, built in 1962, is still standing, but an addition put on the rear of the bigger building in the 1980's was leveled. The township's salt-storage building was spared, Stewart said.
The building and contents are insured, and an adjuster is scheduled to be on the scene Monday, said township trustee Dennis Huey. The first order of business is to assess the loss and then find a storage site for equipment as it is replaced, he said.
"We need to secure a smaller building for our basic equipment," Huey said.
Some pieces, like lawn mowers, can be found relatively quickly, he said. Others, like dump trucks, are usually custom-built and can take months to arrive, he said.
"We had 40 to 50 years' worth of (accumulated) equipment in there," Huey said. "We're out of business for awhile."
Neighboring communities wasted no time to offer help in any way possible, officials said.
"We have great support, a great working relationship," Stewart said.
Huey agreed.
"The townships have always worked together," he said.
A steady stream of township residents came to the fire scene Friday to sympathize, officials said.
"Residents have been unreal," Stewart said. "They have been up here in tears, crying. People in Kingsville are proud of what we have."