Structural fire leaves $150,000 worth of damages to local business

By Kathryn Menue

EDITOR

On Wednesday, Dec. 14, the Belvidere Fire Department received a call for a structural fire at approximately 9:02 p.m.

“We were called for a structure fire with heavy flames and smoke showing,” Belvidere Fire Department Chief Al Hyser said.

The Belvidere Fire Department arrived on scene to Power Logistics, located at 438 Scotts Army Trail in Belvidere, at 9:06 p.m. The business was unoccupied at the time of the fire.

“Belvidere responded with assistance from Boone County District II, Marengo Fire Department, Boone County EMA, and Lifeline Ambulance, as well as assistance from the Belvidere Police Department,” Chief Hyser said.

The departments tirelessly worked together to bring the fire under control within 30 minutes of arriving on scene. After 45 minutes, the departments had the fire completely extinguished.

However, the fire departments did experience some difficulties due to the nature of the fire and the extreme weather conditions. Firefighters had to work quickly to stop the fire before it reached the nearly 50 semi tires and 50-gallon drums of oil located in the structure.

“The guys did a great job stopping it before it got to those materials,” Chief Hyser said. “Regardless, it was a toxic environment.”

Not only did the firefighters have to stop the fire before it took a turn for the worse, but they also had to extinguish the flames while fighting the severe wind chill.

Fortunately, everyone walked away from the fire without injury.

“The cause of the fire is believed to be an electrical short in a semi tractor trailer that was in the building,” Chief Hyser said.

According to a report from Belvidere Fire Department Captain Brian Harbison, the fire extended from the semi trailer “to ceiling areas and to some materials stored inside the building” causing an estimated $150,000 worth of damages.

Chief Hyser was very thankful for all of the responders’ efforts in containing and extinguishing the fire, especially due to the extreme circumstances of the weather.

“I wanted to thank everyone who responded, not only my guys but the other departments that responded,” Chief Hyser said.