Some 150 gallons of flammable hydraulic fluids helped fuel the six-alarm fire that consumed several buildings Wednesday night at Third and Mosley, Wichita Fire Marshal Ed Bricknell said this morning.
He said damages in the blaze, fought by some 95 firefighters, are estimated at $4.5 million. No one is reported to be seriously injured. One firefighter sustained minor injuries fighting the blaze
Plumes of black smoke visible around the city Wednesday night should not have been hazardous to anyone who was more than a block away from the fire, Bricknell said.
"I think that the smoke drifted high enough that it would not be a concern," he said.
The businesses destroyed are all part of Murdock Industrial Supply Co., a distributor that sells motors and other electrical equipment, Bricknell said. He said no one was in the buildings when the fire broke out.
In addition to the hydraulic fluids that burned, Bricknell said, the fire consumed oils and anti-freeze.
Fire investigators are waiting for scorched walls to be torn today before they can launch a full-scale investigation into the fire's cause, Bricknell said.
Witnesses first reported the blaze about 8:30 p.m.; about six hours later, it was contained. Bricknell said firefighters sprayed millions of gallons of water onto the inferno, which they could reach only through doors, windows and a hole that the fire burned in the roof.
More than 30 firefighting vehicles responded to the scene, but Bricknell said 70 percent of the Wichita's fire stations "were covered" and able to protect the rest of the city.
