01/24/2006 - Structure Fire - Long John Silver's

     At 0544 hrs on 01/24/06, Companies 20, 17 (Granville), 23 (Westover), and 13 (Cassville) were alerted for a reported structure fire at the Star City Long John Silver's, located at the corner of Mon Bvld. and Boyers Ave.  The first caller to 911 reported the fire as being located at the Sabraton location, so Morgantown Fire Department was dispatched to that location.  Before arriving on scene and reporting nothing showing, however, a Star City PD unit arrived on scene of the actual fire and reported it to MECCA 911.  The first engine out, E-203, responded with six personnel at 0547 and arrived on scene at 0548, with 20-7 (Lt. Shawn Alt) assuming initial incident command, reporting a working fire in the kitchen/drive thru area.  Engine 201 and Unit 202 also responded from Company 20, and 20-3 (Battalion Chief John Huber) assumed incident command upon his arrival.  First in firefighters pulled two 1 ½" lines for initial interior attack and made their way through extremely heavy smoke conditions in the structure to locate the seat of the fire.  Water supply was not an issue as a hydrant was located caddy-cornered to the scene; E-203 laid approximately 300' of four-inch supply line upon arrival.  After an aggressive interior attack knocked down the bulk of the fire, it was discovered there were two roofs in the structure and fire was traveling between the sheet metal and particle board under the structure's old tar roof, accessible through a cockloft.  The fire was declared under control by command at 0621, and crews remained on scene for several hours performing salvage and overhaul.  Summers' Towing responded with their Sliding Rotator to hoist a large HVAC unit off of the roof; due to heavy fire damage under the unit's support structure, it was feared the roof would have collapsed under it's weight.  Red Cross Disaster Relief responded to the scene to provide breakfast and coffee to about 30 firefighters.  At approximately 1130 hrs, Tower 204 responded back to the scene to drown a few possible hot spots on the roof - no rekindles were reported, however.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation by SCVFD officials and the WV State Fire Marshall's Office.  Also responding were Tanker 172 and Ladder 176 (Co. 17), Squad 231 and Engine 233 (Co. 23), and Squad 135 and Engine 136 (Co. 13).  The last unit called in station at 1248 hrs. 

Pictures from Incident

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Courtesy of the Dominion Post	Courtesy of the Dominion Post

Fire destroys Long John Silver’s restaurant

Blaze at Star City building Tuesday under investigation

BY NATALIE NEYSA ALUND The Dominion Post

   Fire destroyed a fast-food restaurant Tuesday morning in Star City.
   Flames broke out at about 5:45 a.m. at the Long John Silver’s on Monongahela Boulevard near Boyers Avenue.
   “In my professional opinion, it’s a total loss,” said John Huber, Star City Volunteer Fire Department battalion chief, who helped battle flames.
   The fire’s cause and origin remain under investigation.
   Firefighters learned about the blaze after someone dialed 911 on Tuesday and told a dispatcher that the Long John Silver’s in Sabraton Shopping Center was on fire.
   But when Morgantown firefighters responded, they couldn’t find a fire.
   So, county firefighters from Star City, Westover, Granville and Cassville volunteer fire departments checked the Long John Silver’s in Star City and found the fire.
   Huber said firefighters think the fire started somewhere near the drive-through window.
   Long John Silver’s District Manager Robert Miller, who sat in his car and watched firefighters hose the building down, said the store was not supposed to open until 10 a.m.
   No one was in the building when the fire began and no one was injured, Huber said.
   After the fire began, it spread to the building’s two roofs. “The building was remodeled at one time, so it has two roofs,” he said.
   Firefighters also had to call in a tow truck from Summers Towing and Repair to remove a 1,500-pound air-conditioning unit from the roof.
   Huber said Summers Towing needed to remove the unit so the roof didn’t collapse.
   “If you look at it inside, the roof is bowed from it almost caving in,” Huber said. “That’s one of the biggest problems — firefighters often die because roofs collapse, because roofs can’t stand the combination of the heat and the weight.”
   Rick Maynard, public relations manager for Long John Silver’s, said the Star City location opened in the early 1970s and was remodeled about 10 years ago.
   Maynard did not know how much the leased building was worth or how much damage was done.
   Twelve employees worked at the restaurant.
   Firefighters battled flames until about 11:30 a.m. After that, they made one more visit to the restaurant.
   “We had to come back one more time because the roof was misbehaving again,” Huber said. “But we got it out.”

**Article Above Courtesy of the Dominion Post**