Storage sheds damaged by fire
Firefighters responded to a fourth alarm fire at the 8 & U storage units in Potosi Thursday morning.
According to Potosi Fire Department Lt. Robert Lang Jr., they were dispatched at 6:53 a.m. Responders found two units ablaze and heavy smoke. Several departments remained on the scene until 1:30 p.m.
“We did call a St. Louis County Task Force to cover the northern end of Washington County and southern end of Jefferson County, because we were pulling every department that we could that was close enough to us,” he said. “The building is a total loss. We did save some units on the east end.
“Everything was smoke damaged. Water and fire damage was stopped about midway of the building.”
He said roughly 20-30 storage units were damaged in some way from the fire.
The city of Potosi provided a backhoe to assist firefighters by removing stored items from the building.
There were no injuries. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. The State Fire Marshal Office was called to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire.
Due to the need for manpower and equipment, several fire departments were called in to assist with extinguishing the blaze. Some of the departments that responded were Hillsboro, Saline Valley, Sullivan, De Soto, De Soto Rural, Potosi, Farmington, Dunklin, Hematite, Bourbon, Leadwood, Big River/Bonne Terre and Desloge.
A backhoe drags out stored items so firefighters can extinguish the blaze at the 8 & U storage units outside Potosi Thursday morning.
Firefighters from more than a dozen departments fight a fourth alarm fire Thursday morning at the 8 & U storage units outside Potosi.
Mark Marberry is a reporter for the Farmington Press and Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3629, or at mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com
