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‘Worst’ fire brings out best

As U.S. Lumber Distribution blaze continues to burn, community comes together to help first responders

By Rachel Foor 7 min read

CLAYSBURG -- The four-alarm fire that brought more than 20 fire departments to the U.S. Lumber Distribution Center in Claysburg late Monday night was among the worst that Claysburg Chief-in-charge Scott Eicher has seen in 30 years.

"This is the second worst I've seen, the Logan Valley Mall was the worst," Eicher said of the December 1994 blaze.

The call for the fire at 218 Ward Drive came in about 10 p.m. Monday, Eicher said, and the last of the firefighters didn't leave the scene until about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

As smoke from the still-burning fire drifted in the wind Tuesday morning, Eicher reported one firefighter was injured during the firefight, but it was "just a small sprain." All employees made it out of the building safely when the fire began.

The cause of the blaze was unknown, Eicher said, noting the fire marshal didn't find anything suspicious.

"The State Farm worker wants to meet back up here tomorrow again to go through it and check a few things," Eicher said. "It's not suspicious, but obviously, we want to check it out."

Eicher listed the wind, smoke and fuel as the main issues that the firefighters had to battle to get the blaze under control.

"The wind and the fuel load in there, obviously being wood, were awful," Eicher said. "And the doors were open. There (were) guys here working and the doors were all open and it just transferred the fire -- it just ran through the building."

Eicher said that U.S. Lumber supplies lumber for businesses such as Lowe's, Your Building Center and 84 Lumber, meaning the fuel load inside the building was "huge."

"We had three aerials working," Eicher said. "They couldn't see to hit the fire because of the smoke thickness. It was throughout everything."

Saving nearby structures, vehicles and products was a concern for Eicher and his crews as well. Dixon Electric, National Im­­­print and Shirley's Cookie Co. are on Ward Drive, within walking distance of U.S. Lumber.

"It's always a worry," Eicher said. "We had a pre-plan for this obviously, you have a pre-plan, and you plan and you plan but you hope the day never comes and pre-planning definitely took effect. My men and women were on it and they did fantastic. All the men and women that were here did a fantastic job."

Eicher said they were able to stop the fire from spreading, save a tractor trailer, a delivery van, a support truck and some product.

"We started getting product away from the building so it wouldn't catch fire," Eicher said, estimating that the total losses still had to be in the millions.

The fire will continue to burn "for a couple days," Eicher said.

"We're going to clean up here, go back to our station, get our trucks and stuff serviced," Eicher said. We'll keep an eye on it for the next couple days. I'll stop by periodically, I'll be up here poking my head in and out."

Due to the amount of water used in fighting the fire, Greenfield Township officials are asking local residents to conserve water for the next 72 hours, suggesting that they do not "wash white or delicate clothing during this period," according to a Facebook post.

Community comes together

The fire departments were joined on scene by AMED, the Red Cross, state police and community members and businesses offering their assistance wherever possible.

"I mean, the community outreach, the outside entities that brought food and water -- it's just been phenomenal," Eicher said. "I can't tell you how many people were here."

AMED had a rehabilitation bus on scene that first responders can sit inside to warm up and breathe oxygen, as well as receive other treatment.

"They were here for any warmth issues," Eicher said. "We had three ambulances here, we had 20-something different fire departments. So, we were well staffed."

According to Katie Johnson, who owns the food truck Katie J's with her husband Stephen, they received a lot of help from the Red Cross to secure food donations they could hand out at the scene. She said they gave first responders a variety of warm food and drinks, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, breakfast sandwiches and coffee.

"Sheetz was a tremendous help with all of their donations," Johnson said. "We wouldn't have been able to do this without the support of the community and Sheetz."

Nick Ruffner, public relations manager at Sheetz, said that they were "shocked and saddened" by news of the fire and that their teams were "eager to assist first responders and firefighters who worked through the night, and throughout Tuesday."

"We were glad to be able to provide breakfast sandwiches and drinks to those who assisted at the scene," Ruffner said. "It is the least we can do for those who volunteer to keep our communities safe."

Johnson said she and her husband, who are both volunteer firefighters, heard about the fire when the Newburg Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched for a tanker.

The couple were then contacted by another fire chief in Blair County, asking if they could assist with food. Johnson said they arrived on scene with their food truck about 11:45 p.m. Monday and didn't leave until 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

"For me, this was one of the biggest fires I have ever seen," Johnson said. "When we arrived on scene, all I saw was an orange glow in the sky and smoke rolling."

The pair made sure to face their trailer away from the smoke and kept their faces covered.

"We know what it is like to be on a fire scene for hours," Johnson said about their decision to respond to the fire. "It is great to have something hot when it's cold out. We wanted to help our fellow brothers and sisters in the service."

Those at Shirley's Cookie Co. also opened their doors to any first responders who needed to rest or to use the restroom.

"You don't want to see a local company in pain and so we definitely feel for them that way," sales executive Tyler Shaw said. "We took over some snacks and things and opened up our doors."

CEO Patty Shaw agreed, saying that it's "community helping community."

"That's what we do," Shaw said.

ABCD Corp. President and CEO Stephen McKnight said that he has reached out to the management team with U.S. Lumber to "start on plans to rebuild and expand."

"It's devastating for a major employer here in Blair County," McKnight said of the fire. "Fortunately, as we understand, no one has been hurt and obviously that's the number one priority."

McKnight said that this isn't the first time something like this has happened and that ABCD Corp. is ready to help U.S. Lumber "with whatever they need in terms of jump-starting their operations."

"We're hoping to help jump-start things really quickly in the coming weeks," McKnight said.

Local representatives and senators "will be at the table to help with issues like workforce displacement," he said.

"There is always a lot of support to help in times of distress like this," McKnight said.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.

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