W.Va. Firefighters Hit Building Fire in Huntington

July 27, 2014
Firefighters have been evacuated as the building continues to burn.

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Firefighters trained streams on a building fire in Huntington, W.Va. Sunday morning.

Backyard Pizza manager Oliver Bailey told Herald-Dispatch reporters he was making breakfast about 9 a.m., and heard a bang, like a transformer exploding.

Realizing it was much more, he ran up to the alert residents in the fifth, sixth and seventh floors, the paper reported.

Huntington Chief Carl Eastham told reporters there was no sprinkler in the old building nor was there a standpipe system. Instead, crews had to pull hoses from the road, all the way to the top floor.

Several master streams were placed in operation.

The fire was contained to the Morris building, and collapses were reported.

Sirens on engines sounded the alert for firefighters to evacuate.

As the firefighters were engaged in operation, officers were keeping an eye on an approaching storm with heavy winds.

Crews went back into the building while the streams were in operation. And, one firefighter reportedly suffered an injured knee.

As of 1:20 p.m., firefighters were continuing to look for hot spots. However, many companies had been placed in service. 

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