Pauls Valley, OK, Pauls Valley Democrat

Front Page

March 26, 2009

Fire just keeps on smoldering

There’s still work to be done as the smoldering heat continues to burn ever so slightly after a Tuesday fire devastated a historic building in downtown Pauls Valley.

Firefighters and even a demolition crew were hard at work on the day after as the fire in the 100 block of South Chickasaw resulted in massive damages to an L-shape building that housed a longtime pawn shop and driving school.

The damages were so extensive plans are now in place to have the building taken completely down once firefighters can safely get in the remaining structure and clear out debris.

The big hold up is the fact the fire is still technically going thanks its tricky placement, Pauls Valley Fire Chief Joe Eddy said Wednesday.

His hopes are that will change by today when local firefighters are expected to be able to safely get in the building that Honest Bus Pawn Shop and Precision Driving School called home up until two days ago.

“Hopefully we can get in there and start digging it out,” Eddy said.

Firefighters from four local and area departments came together Tuesday afternoon to battle for nearly two hours to contain the fire to a building dating back more than a century.

Although not an official conclusion, Eddy said Wednesday he believes the cause of the fire was electrical in nature.

“We’re suspecting it was electrical, upstairs in the pawn shop. It started in the pawn shop up on the top,” he said.

The pawn shop is located in the middle of the South Chickasaw block. The entire building then goes to the back and toward McClure Avenue where the driving school had been located.

Eddy said it was already an intense fire when he and his guys first arrived Tuesday at the pawn shop.

“When we first got here the second floor was really cooking,” he said.

“Flames were coming through the roof.”

The age of the building, constructed back in 1898, was the likely reason the intense fire “burned like gasoline” after being ignited.

“The lumber in a building like this one is over 100 years old. So it’s real dry and burns real quick,” said the local fire chief.

One of the big concerns for firefighters was keeping the fire from spreading to other buildings and other businesses.

The good news is they were successful in that effort as a jewelry store located directly on the corner of Chickasaw and McClure sustained only minimal damage, mostly from water sprayed to battle the fire.

A loan company business on the north side of the pawn shop came away with “basically no damage,” Eddy said.

“We braced up the north wall to the pawn shop to keep it from falling on the loan company next door. We couldn’t brace the west wall, which is why we shut down (U.S. Highway) 77,” he said, referring to the front of the shop.

A demolition crew was brought in Wednesday to slowly take down the upper walls of the pawn shop on those north and west sides.

Eddy stressed the reason the fire didn’t spread and do even more damage was the help of three area fire departments.

“I want to thank the fire departments from Wynnewood, Stratford and Purcell for coming to assist us,” he said.

“We couldn’t have done it by ourselves. Without their help we wouldn’t have been able to keep it contained to one building.”

As for the fire, it just won’t go away — at least for now.

Shortly after local firefighters arrived on Tuesday much of the second floor of the pawn shop collapsed creating a large pile up of debris on the ground floor.

Other parts of the building later had the roof fall in to the top of the first floor.

It’s here a smoldering fire has remained trapped in an area out of the reach of firefighters and at times has slightly flared back up while still remaining contained.

That means the threat of a rekindled fire will continue until firefighters can get in and clear scorched debris from the building, which is the plan for today Eddy added.

Text Only
Local News
Sports
Super Bowl 46-1stQ-05.JPG

Giants wide receiver Hakeem Hicks is taken down by Patriots defender Devin McCourty after a 19-yard gain.

Obituaries
  • Dale Gore

    Dale Gore, 47, of Wynnewood was born Dec. 7, 1964 in Wynnewood to Ruby Laverne (Jones) Byrum. He passed away Feb. 1, 2012 at Oklahoma City, Okla.

    February 3, 2012

  • Martha Freeman

    Services for Martha Ann Freeman, 81, of Byars are at 2 p.m. Friday at the Stratford Church of Christ.

    February 1, 2012

  • William Walter Barckholtz

    William (Bill) Walter Barckholtz, 68, of Pauls Valley, Okla., died January 30, 2012 at Pauls Valley General Hospital.

    February 1, 2012

  • Madison McKenzie Vandever

    Madison McKenzie Vandever of Pauls Valley was born September 17, 1996 in Pauls Valley to Billy and Dana Vandever.

    January 30, 2012

Community News
State News
  • Nominate an Unsung Hero

    Citizen Service Before Self Honors are presented to unsung heroes the fewer than 90 living recipients of our nation’s highest award for valor - the Medal of Honor.  Citizen Service Before Self Honorees represent the values of courage, sacrifice, and selfless service.

     

    February 7, 2012

  • Fallin highlights more cuts to Oklahma income tax

    Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin provided more details of her plan to cut the personal income tax for all Oklahomans during her State of the State address to lawmakers on Monday, but had few specifics on how she plans to pay for the ambitious proposal.

    February 6, 2012

Business
Business Marquee
Movie Reviews
Moneyball DVD Art

Artwork for "Moneyball," now on DVD.

  • ‘Moneyball’ cash in the bank for best actor

    Maybe it’s because math was always a special kind of hell for me throughout the education process, but any sort of award attached to a movie where it is the major dynamic seems like a cruel joke.

    February 3, 2012 1 Photo

Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
AP Video
Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate' Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate' Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe Analyst: Outside Troops Won't Intervene in Syria Police: Father Planned Deadly Fire for Some Time Kelly Clarkson Honors America at Super Bowl NY Giants Touch Down Victorious Video of M.I.A's Obscene Halftime Gesture Murder Trial for Ex-U.Va. Lacrosse Player Begins And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is... Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire Raw Video: Mass Killer Wants Medal, Freedom US, UK Pressure on Syria; More Homs Violence Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase Foreclosures Down 34 Percent in 2011 Greek Leaders Seek Deal As Bankruptcy Looms Court Strips Contador of Tour De France Title Few Answers in Death of Sons of Missing Utah Mom M.I.A. Flips Bird at Super Bowl Halftime Show
Stocks
e-Edition
HowYouWantItWhenYouWantIt2

  • Today's Pauls Valley Democrat

    Now you can view and download the Democrat right to your desktop on the day the paper is published. Click here to get more information on the Democrat's e-Edition.

     

    CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE E-EDITION SITE

     

    ATTENTION CURRENT DEMOCRAT SUBSCRIBERS TO START an e-EDITION

    e-mail request to sjohnson@pvdemocrat.com

    April 20, 2011 1 Photo 1 Link