Two-alarm fire contained
Published 9:09 pm Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Suffolk firefighters found themselves battling the intense heat of the day nearly as hard as they fought a two-alarm fire Wednesday morning at a business in the Bridgeway Commerce Park.
Working in temperatures well above 90 degrees with humidity that made the outdoor temperature feel close to 100, two ladder companies, four engine companies, an emergency medical unit and a medic worked for about two hours to extinguish a fire in a warehouse building in the 6900 block of Harbour View Boulevard.
The fire at Amware Pallet Services was reported at 8:28 a.m., according to Suffolk spokesperson Diana L. Klink. It was declared to be under control at 10:15 a.m.
The fire started within a pile of pallets and other materials and did not spread to the structure, Klink said Wednesday afternoon. Amware and the businesses that share the building were evacuated, but by 10:45 a.m., at least some of those in other parts of the huge warehouse structure were being allowed back into the building.
Klink said there were no injuries to either occupants or firefighters during the incident. Firefighters, she added, were kept safe from heat-related problems “in large part because of a piece of equipment” that had been brought to the scene by the Chesapeake Fire Department.
That department provided a rehab truck that was used to medically assist the firefighters; check their heart rates, blood pressures, body temperatures and other vital symptoms; and rehydrate them throughout the morning.
The city of Norfolk also provided a piece of equipment that included a ventilation system to aid in dealing with warehouse fire situations, Klink said. The Chuckatuck Volunteer Fire Department provided backfill for Fire Station 5 on Bridge Road during the event.
No cause of the fire has yet been announced. Members of the Suffolk Fire Marshal’s office are investigating.