Blaze ignites fireworks showroom
There was no explosion, and no injuries were reported.
COLUMBIANA -- The state fire marshal's office is searching for the cause of a fire that destroyed the Phantom Fireworks store on state Route 46 just north of here early today.
The showroom caught fire about 3:39 a.m., according to the Beaver Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Fire Chief Gary Borman and Assistant Chief Robert Morrison said that when the fire department arrived, smoke was coming through the roof. The showroom was a 50-foot-by-60-foot metal pole building that contained small firecrackers and sparklers.
As firefighters arrived, the roof collapsed. There was no explosion, firefighters said. It took about an hour to get the fire under control, they said, but it continued to smolder until well after daylight.
The building is in Beaver Township at the northwest corner of state Routes 11 and 46. The showroom is about 400 yards off state Route 46. The property is fenced.
The building was B.J. Alan's first shop, according to William Weimer, the company's general counsel.
"There's a lot of nostalgia there," Weimer said. "It was really the beginning of B.J. Alan."
Fire departments from Green and Springfield townships, Damascus, Leetonia and Columbiana assisted by bringing water to the scene. The Canfield Fire Department was bringing water this morning.
Fire officials said they put water not only on the showroom, but also on a large number of nearby tractor-trailers, some of which contained fireworks, as a preventive measure.
"There were no injuries. That was our major concern," Borman said.
Bruce Zoldan, owner of the fireworks company, and other company officials visited the scene this morning.
The showroom dated to 1977, when the company was incorporated. Weimer said the showroom would be rebuilt. The company moved to Youngstown in 1985.
Fire officials said a few hot spots were in the building at 8 a.m. today. Morrison said the department had learned lessons in dealing with fireworks fires after an illegal fireworks manufacturing site in the township exploded in 1985, killing nine people.