KS Barrel Reconditioning Business Destroyed by Fire

Oct. 30—The building housing a Kansas City, Kansas, barrel reconditioning company is considered a total loss after a fire swept through it Friday morning.

The fire was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. at the A-1 Barrel Co., which is located in an industrial area alongside the Kansas River, said Battalion Chief Scott Schaunaman of the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department.

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Workers were on break when the fire started. When smoke started filling the break room, the workers went to check to see where it was coming from and discovered that the building was on fire. They evacuated the building and called 911, Schaunaman said.

"Our first arriving company was Pumper 20 and they reported heavy black smoke and also extensive fire exiting the building," Schaunaman said. "At that point, we knew it was going to be a defensive strategy."

Initially, firefighters were concerned about barrels both inside and outside the building, but the company's owners told firefighters the barrels were empty. Firefighters battled to keep the blaze from spreading to mobile homes adjacent to the company's property. Residents in those homes were evacuated for safety reasons.

The fire department responded with a general alarm, which sent about 30 firefighters and several fire trucks, including four pumpers, two ladder trucks, two ambulances and a rescue truck.

Firefighters knocked down the fire and hand it under control in less than an hour. A portion of the roof collapsed.

"Once we had the fire knocked down, we felt that it was safe enough to make an interior attack just to get some of the hot spots that we needed to," Schaunaman said.

No one was injured in the blaze.

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