BEATRICE – An overnight fire has caused significant damage to a shop building owned by the City of Wymore, resulting in the loss of vehicles and other equipment.


Fire Chief Mark Meints says a truck driver notified authorities of the incident at 6th and D Streets…which houses city shops, the city utilities department and the police department at the south end of the building.
Meints says firefighters were summoned at 11:48 Tuesday night when a passersby saw smoke coming from the building.


"A truck driver that was hauling anhydrous to the fertilizer facility there stopped, and went up and looked in the window and could see smoke, felt the door...and the door was hot. He called 9-1-1 and Wymore Fire was dispatched. We mutual aided Blue Springs, right away."


The structure was full of smoke and high heat….and the chief said the fire apparently began near the middle of the building. "A lot of heat and smoke damage. It did burn through from the main level up into the storage area up above...the floor joists of that area. There is storage area up there for the city utilities and the police department."


The fire is just northeast of the town’s fire and rescue department. Meints says firefighters using a thermal imaging camera at the door which detected heat inside the building up to 700-degrees.
Some vehicles were damaged inside.


"Probably salvageable...some of the pickups are, but there are concerns for some of the specialty equipment, like the boom truck. It's all going to have to be inspected. A lot of stuff in there...a lot of electrical stuff is going to probably be destroyed and replaced...a lot of spare parts for the city."

Photo: Wymore Fire Chief
Photo: Wymore Fire Chief  

 
The electronic equipment that operates Wymore city water wells is located in the building, and the shut off of power during the fire meant wells had to be manually restarted. Firefighters were able to save the structure, but there was significant damage, both heat and smoke….to the building. Meints says a state fire investigator helped in pinpointing how the fire started.


"At this time, we're ruling that it did start in the garbage can. Some discarded materials....something started in the garbage can and melted it....led up the wall and up to the ceiling, into the attic area."


Vehicles damaged included a street sweeper, a boom truck and three pickups. Meints says the smoke and heat damage caused conduit to sag and there will be a large amount of damage to repair. The city is insured through a League of Municipalities insurance plan.


Meints says it was fortunate the truck driver noticed the problem and alerted authorities. No one was injured.
In addition to Wymore firefighters, Blue Springs and Barneston personnel responded, along with an air tank trailer from Cortland. Firefighters left the scene at about 4 a.m., Wednesday.