Fire Destroys Jacksonville Equipment Dealer – WLDS

Firefighters from multiple departments worked into the night after an area outdoor equipment dealer caught fire Tuesday. The Jacksonville Fire Department was called for a report of a structure fire at Henry’s Service Center, located at 2244 West Morton Avenue just before 7:00 pm.

Jacksonville Fire Department Chief Matt Summers says there was heavy fire in the shop, located in the middle section of the building when the first crews arrived. The South Jacksonville Fire Department responded as automatic mutual aid, and personnel from both the Chapin Arenzville Volunteer Fire Departments also aided in fighting the fire.

Chief Summers says no one was injured in the blaze, however, most of the building was completely destroyed. “There is a lot of loss. The fire crews here did a really good job. They pretty well kept the fire contained to the workshop area, the larger section of the building to the north. There was a lot of heavy fire damage. The roof collapsed over the sop area fairly quickly after they got on scene and not long after they got the aerial in operation.

There is a mezzanine level above some of the back offices and workshop area. There was a lot of fuel oil, tires and belts, and other things like that so they had a lot going on inside this structure at one time, and a lot of potential dangers.

The guys did a good job, they kept it contained to that area. The whole front retail area has water damage obviously, but they were able to save most all of that equipment and all the equipment that was parked outside along the building was able to be moved, so I think that damage was kept minimal.”

Chief Summers says according to the owners and employees interviewed at the scene, everyone was out of the building for the day approximately 20 to 30 minutes before a neighbor reported the fire to West Central Joint Dispatch.

Chief Summers says due to the large amount of commercial losses caused by the blaze, an investigator from the Office of the State Fire Marshal was called in to assist in determining the cause of the fire.

Chief Summers says the investigation will remain ongoing and most if not all of the structure is a total loss. An estimate of losses will be determined in the coming days. Fire crews worked late into the night checking for hot spots.