Water from a nearby pond was used to fight the early week fire that destroyed a Winchester business

 

13 stations, dozens of firefighters respond to late-night blaze – 

By Patricia Beech – 
Photo by Kaiajade – 

Neighbors were awakened in the small hours of the night of Monday, Dec. 4 by explosions from a fire that completely destroyed a Winchester business.
Thirteen fire departments and dozens of firefighters responded to the blaze, including three stations from Brown County and one from Highland County.
According to Captain Jason Work of the Wayne Township Fire Department, the building housing Kelly’s Southern Ohio Classics, at 7560 Eckmansville Road, Winchester, was completely destroyed by the inferno.
“When we arrived on scene there was fire burning in the attic and walls,” Work said. “We made several attempts to get inside, but there was just so much heat and heavy smoke, it really wasn’t safe for our guys to be in there.”
Using two unmanned ladder trucks, firefighters had to rely on tanker trucks and a nearby pond for water to fight the flames.
“The pond basically took the place of fire hydrants,” said Work. “It really helped a lot, especially when you’re flowing the amount of water it takes for two ladder trucks.”
Firefighters remained on scene from 1:30- 6:30 a.m. and used an estimated 200,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire.
Work said there were several explosions during the fire.
“That’s what alerted the neighbors that the building was burning,” he said. “They heard the explosions.”
Authorities said the business, owned by Kelly Jones, sold Central Boiler outdoor wood furnaces, pellet stoves, and foam insulation.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Ohio Fire Marshal’s Office.