Lapel fire ignited by spark from tool

By Aleasha Sandley, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer

LAPEL April 08, 2009 11:47 pm

— Click here to view video of the fire.

LAPEL — A spark from a tool caused a fire that gutted a Lapel furniture factory Wednesday morning, as firefighters from surrounding communities were called in to help fight the flames.
Brad McQueen, owner of Hickory Furniture Designs at 107 W. 14th St. in Lapel, said 10 to 12 employees had been in the shop making furniture when the fire broke out about 9:15 a.m. No one was injured.
Firefighters from Lapel, Pendleton, Ingalls, Frankton, Anderson and Wayne Township in Hamilton County were called for mutual aid, Lapel Fire Chief Jeff Passwater said, but the 5,000-square-foot building was a total loss.
Passwater said it took firefighters 45 minutes to an hour to contain the fire, but hot spots continued to fan the flames and create a plume of smoke that could be seen from Anderson late Wednesday morning.
To conserve the town’s water supply, firefighters stopped using hydrants and called in tanker trucks to bring water from the nearby stone quarry to quell the three-story-tall flames from the low building.
“We can’t run the tower completely empty,” Passwater said while firefighters still were working on hot spots. “Right now, we’re still a little conservative on water.”
Passwater said the furniture factory’s employees tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher to no avail. The building did not have a sprinkler system.
Firefighters rushed to save a house at the northeast corner of the building, and Passwater did not know Wednesday afternoon whether the house had sustained smoke, fire or water damage.
McQueen said his business would rebuild. Some of the factory’s handmade chairs and tables were lined up outside the building, a frantic attempt by workers to save what inventory they could before fire consumed the building.
“It just happened quick,” McQueen said. “I’m just glad nobody got hurt. We’ll be fine.”
Hickory Furniture Designs makes hickory stick-style furniture, including chairs, barstools, benches, beds, tables and custom designs.
Lynette Burris was working in Shear Style salon, situated just east of the furniture factory, when she heard workers moving furniture outside and started smelling smoke.
“The town called and told me to evacuate,” she said. “(The salon) was filling with smoke when I left. Hopefully there’s not a bunch of smoke damage.”
Lapel residents Chris McClintock and Zach Baird said the furniture factory had been the town’s bowling alley, a pizza restaurant and a church in the past.
“It’s been everything,” McClintock said. “There were some memories.”
Chris Boots has clear memories of the building, where he started his business, CJ Boots Casket Co. in spring of 1999. He spent the first year of the business there, starting with three employees before the business quickly outgrew the building.
“There were lots of memories,” he said. “There was a candle factory in there before we were, so we built a lot of caskets smelling candles.”
Boots said as a wood-working operation, fire is always a fear.
“I was pretty shocked,” he said. “It kind of made my heart skip a little bit. We take great pains to make sure those things don’t happen.”
Boots’ casket company spent this week going over new fire safety standards and equipment. He said wood-working businesses should have separate sections for electric tools and chemical sprays and finishes.
“We sure enjoyed being there in Lapel,” he said. “We always tell that in our story, that we started in Lapel. It was a great place.”

Contact Aleasha Sandley: 640-4805, aleasha.sandley@heraldbulletin.com.

Photos

Fire destroyed the Hickory Funiture Designs, Inc. business located at 107 W. 14th Street in Lapel Wednesday morning. The Herald Bulletin

Firefighters from seven area fire departments were called to help fight the fire Wednesday morning at Hickory Furiture Designs in Lapel. The Herald Bulletin

Business owner Brad McQueen, right, watches with his daughter Janelle McQueen and her fiancee Matt Cosgrove as flames destroy his business. The Herald Bulletin