Firefighters managed to save part of a storage facility in a major fire on Monday, but most of the building was destroyed.
Gravois Fire Protection District, GFPD, firefighters responded to a wood structure fire at 3:24 a.m. on Monday, April 2, to the Storage Depot, located at 29322 Highway 5 in Gravois Mills.
According to GFPD Deputy Fire Chief Ron Anselmo, a motorist driving by the storage units saw the fire and called 911.
“When we arrived at the scene, we found a storage building heavily involved in fire,” Chief Anselmo said. “Approximately three-quarters of the building was already destroyed.”
Mutual aid was requested, and the Versailles Rural and Stover Fire Departments responded. Versailles Rural firefighters filled tankers with water near the Gravois Mills lake access, that was then shuttled back to the scene, on Highway 5 near Route P.
According to Chief Anselmo, firefighters made a direct attack on the fire by cutting the unburned portion of the storage units away from the burning units. “We drew a line to stop the fire from going any further,” Chief Anselmo said.
Firefighters were successful at stopping the fire where they found it. One quarter of the units were saved. A few of the remaining units had minimal smoke damage. The fire was brought under control at 7:30 a.m.
“The fire was extremely hot due to the variety of items in the storage units,” Chief Anselmo commented.
One firefighter was injured during the operation. He was attended to at the scene by Lake West Ambulance paramedics. “He slipped and pulled a muscle,” Chief Anselmo said.
The State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of this fire. At this time, the cause is undetermined, but the place of origin is known.
