Fire destroys building in West Finley
A spark from a welder that came in contact with diesel fuel likely caused a fire that destroyed a building at Hansen Engineering on Laidleys Run Road in West Finley Township late Wednesday afternoon.
The 40-foot-by-40-foot metal building at 167 Laidleys Run was burning uncontrolled when firefighters from West Finley and other departments responded to the fire, which was reported about 4:40 p.m., said fire Capt. Steve Emery. The building was used for welding as well as storage. No one was in the building when firefighters arrived.
“It took us about four hours to get it under control,” Emery said. “We had to fight it from the exterior of the building.”
Emery said a hydrant was located about 400 yards away from the building at the end of the driveway. Firefighters used a tanker shuttle to haul about 14,000 gallons of water.
About 50 firefighters from West Alexander and Claysville, as well as Dallas, Triadelphia and Valley Grove in West Virginia, assisted. Canton Township firefighters provided an air truck to refill self-contained breathing apparatuses.
“We had enough help that we kept rotating crews of four or five firefighters back and forth because of the heat,” Emery said. “Everyone worked well together.”
West Alexander fire Chief Eric Graham manned an incident command site set up near the scene to keep track of the personnel.
A crew from Ambulance and Chair Service also assisted. Emery said no injuries were reported.