JACKSON CENTER — Twenty-four tankers were used from numerous fire departments from four area counties plus Shelby County to battle a huge structure fire at Shelby Transport Inc. on state Route 65 in Jackson Center Sunday night.
The cause of the fire at the cargo and freight trucking company is currently undetermined as it is remains under investigation with the help of the Sidney Department of Fire & Emergency Services Investigation Unit, said Jackson Center Fire Chief Jerry Davis.
“We had a total of 24 tankers in our tanker shuttle. We had two fill sites; one was a municipal hydrant and the other fill site was a close proximity pond to the scene,” Davis explained. “So, I basically pulled resources from four surrounding counties, other than Shelby County. So, you had Shelby County, you had Auglaize County, you had Logan County, you had Champaign County and you had Miami County, for a total of five counties.”
Shelby County dispatch received a report of a structure fire at building at Shelby Transport, 14510 State Route 65, on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 6:32 p.m. Owners of the business, Joe and Lisa Anthony, also reside on the property, Davis said, and so when Lisa observed the fire, she made the call for help.
“There was active fire in the (back side) of the building when we arrived. It was confirmed a working fire with flames were visible right away,” Davis said. “The initial call came into dispatch at 18:32 hours, so 6:32 (p.m.) and I logged the situation contained at 21:01 hours (9:01 p.m.). So it was about 2 1/2 hours to get it contained. And then we were on scene for a few hours checking the hot spots. I think the final units cleared the scene around midnight.”
The business’ multi-purpose structure, which held vehicles, trailers, equipment and tools, was destroyed for a total loss. The building housed six semi tractors, a couple of tow motors and a couple of trailers, along with other equipment and tools at the time of the fire.
Departments assisting Jackson Center Fire Department from Shelby County were: Anna, Botkins, Van Buren Township, Maplewood, Port Jefferson, Fort Loramie, Lockington and Sidney Fire Departments; from Auglaize County were, Minster, New Bremen, New Knoxville, St. John’s and Uniopolis Fire Departments; from Logan County were, Lakeview, Russell’s Point, DeGraff and Quincy Fire Departments; along with Rosewood Fire Department from Champaign County ; and Fletcher Fire Department from Miami County. Davis said they also received support from Anna EMS, ODOT, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Shelby County Engineer’s Office highway department and the Shelby County Salvation Army.
The loss is a substantial dollar amount, Davis said, but has yet to be set, as the incident is still under investigation. He noted the cause of the fire does not appear to be suspicious at this time.
The business was not open at the time of the fire, Davis said. No one was inside of the building at the time of the fire. Davis also said no one was injured in the fire.
