Fairfield warehouse destroyed by fire

FAIRFIELD – A warehouse in Fairfield burned to the ground Friday afternoon, though no injuries were reported from the blaze that drew three fire departments.

The warehouse is owned by Paris Freight Transfer, and is located at 3011 W. Grimes Ave. at the west edge of Fairfield. At about 1:40 p.m., a neighbor called 911 to report that the building was on fire, and when the Fairfield Fire Department arrived, smoke was billowing high into the sky.

The Fairfield Fire Department called upon firefighters from Packwood and Libertyville for mutual aid as they battled the fire for four hours. Fairfield Fire Chief Brett Ferrel said it was a difficult fire to fight, because it was already far along by the time the firefighters arrived, and because the building was far from the road, and thus hard to maneuver vehicles near it.

“There was a lot of fuel inside the building, and the wind gusts did not help us at all,” Ferrel said. “We were able to put out the fire with multiple water lines and an aerial truck.”

Ferrel said it some vehicles were in the house at the time of the fire, but it did not appear that anyone was inside at the time, and nobody was injured. He said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Ferrel said none of the surrounding buildings suffered any damage from the fire.

“The guys on scene did a good job with the conditions we had, and did not let it spread to nearby structures,” he said.

Ferrel said he appreciated the assistance of Packwood and Libertyville fire departments, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Fairfield Police Department and Jefferson County Emergency Management.

“They all did an amazing job,” he said.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com

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