TOTAL LOSS
Published 12:54 am Thursday, June 4, 2015
![Shown is the damage done to Reeves Woodworks on Dry Street in Opp. Five fire departments battled the blaze.](https://www.andalusiastarnews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2015/06/0604-Fire4.jpg)
Shown is the damage done to Reeves Woodworks on Dry Street in Opp. Five fire departments battled the blaze.
Fire destroyed an Opp woodworking shop Wednesday afternoon.
Opp Fire Chief Cory Spurlin said the department was called to Reeves Woodworks at 5:46 p.m. The business is located on Dry Street adjacent to Howell Insurance.
“When our first engine arrived, the structure was well involved,” Spurlin said. “We were very concerned with the C-side of the building because there was a home there.”
Spurlin said he paged for a second alarm to get mutual assistance from Onycha and Babbie volunteer fire departments. Union Grove and Rose Hill volunteer fire departments also assisted in putting out the blaze.
“Due to the type of building it was, I knew we would need assistance,” he said. “There were paints, thinners and woods inside.”
Spurlin said firefighters tried to make an aggressive attack and then went on the defensive to protect the houses around it.
“One house we thought was smoking, so we concentrated on that area,” he said.
Spurlin said two firefighters – one from Babbie and one from Onycha – were treated at the scene for heat exhaustion but were not taken to the hospital.
Medical personnel from Pridemark EMS and Opportunity EMS were at the scene.
Cummings Avenue was shut down from the Tom Thumb to nearly Jackson Street as firefighters ran hoses from fire hydrants.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.