Flames destroyed a building at the Gallia County Junior Fairgrounds Wednesday.
“We received a call just a little bit before 7 a.m. that the office building at the fairgrounds was on fire,” Gallipolis Assistant Fire Chief Mike Null told the Daily Sentinel. “We immediately called for mutual aid from Rio Grande and Springfield Township for both manpower and tankers. In short order, we also called for District 11 (Harrison Township Volunteer Fire Department).”
He said the fire broke out on the west side of the Commercial Building, which is used for the fair and includes the business office.
“Even though that’s where the flames were showing, the entire ridge cap (of the building) had smoke coming out the glass on all the different windows,” he said. “When you have big plywood stalls and other things (wood tables for displays), it didn’t take very long for (the fire) to spread.”
Crews used a defensive attack because the fire was so advanced.
Fair officials said the building contained historical records, portraits and equipment.
Null said the fire was so intense that it melted “holes” in its aluminum shell.
The State Fire Marshal’s office was called to investigate the cause of the fire.
