Wagner/POV building fire was one of biggest ever in Wellington

See video footage of the fire scene here and a slideshow of amateur photos of the fire here. 

Firefighters battle the fire at 1 a.m. Tuesday at Wagner/POV Products in Wellington.

WELLINGTON — A smoldering pile of rubble is all that remains of the 147-year-old Wagner/POV Products building after fire ripped through the complex early Tuesday as dozens of firefighters battled the blaze and hundreds of residents watched.
The blaze, which started in the empty building shortly before 11 p.m. Monday, consumed a large portion of the three-story, divided structure that was a fixture on Depot Street for many decades.

The fire burned with intensity for hours, finally being knocked down around after 3:30 a.m. after several area departments banded together to extinguish it.

On Tuesday, the smell of smoke lingered as a lone fire crew stayed on scene, dousing the huge pile of smoking bricks and timbers with water to keep the fire from reigniting.

Hours after the fact and long past the point of exhaustion, Wellington fire Chief Robert Wellington leaned against a brick wall across the street and looked at the debris, recapping what will go down as one of the biggest fires in recent village history.
“At one point, flames were shooting up 50 to 75 feet in the air,” he said. “Once it blew through the roof on the north side, we had people literally taking a step back.”

Walker said he is still investigating how the fire started — something he may not know for several days. But he’s a step closer as he knows where the flames started — the northwest corner of the building between the first and second floors, he said.
At present, police Chief Steve Rollins said fire is not being investigated as arson. Nothing points to  it being a criminal matter. When officers arrived on the scene shortly after 10:20 p.m., all the doors and windows were locked.

No damage estimate was available Tuesday.

“We don’t think anyone got in there and did something,” Rollins said. “The last time anything happened there was like two years ago when there was a break-in, but the place was still in operation back then.”

The Wagner/POV Products Co. is the former bird seed and feed company that occupied a century-old warehouse on Depot and Main Streets. Built in 1880 for the Horr-Warner Co., it originally was used as a cheese warehouse, said Will McCracken of the Spirit of 76 Museum in Wellington.

After War World II, it was mainly used as a warehouse for potato chips. When the owner retired about 20 years ago, it was sold to Wagner/POV Products.

The building, which was divided into several smaller structures inside, was built to last — it had three-foot brick walls and thick timber support beams.

As such, Walker said firefighters knew going in they were dealing with an old wood-framed factory with plenty of ignitable material inside.

So, almost immediately, the first plan of attack was cutting a two-foot wide, 14-foot long trench in the roof linking two of the portions.  It helped keep the fire contained, Walker said.

“Our main concern was to save the building to the east,” he said. “It may have been a vacant structure, but we did a pretty good job of saving as much property as we could. Plus, we had several apartments across the street and residents living in them to think about.”

Heavy plumes of smoke forced evacuations of Depot Street and portions of North Main Street. Residents on Taylor Street were advised to stay indoors with the windows closed, Rollins said.

The Red Cross was on scene, offering shelter and food to displaced residents. However, only about 16 people took up the offer, said Mary Moran, a Red Cross spokeswoman.

“We were set up at the town hall for five hours with cots and food, if they needed it,” she said.

Eleven volunteers not only looked out for residents, but also supplied much-needed food and water to the firefighters and police officers.

“It was a remarkable performance by the fire department to manage, contain and limit the blaze to the part of the building that it consumed,’’ said Councilman Guy Wells.

Wells lives across the street from the fire and was brought out to the sidewalk by the spectacle of the night.

“It smelled like a good, slow-cooking barbeque or a camp fire,” he said. “You would see the smoke come out of a crack a few inches and pull back in like it was breathing. The flames were hot and it was clear (Monday) night just from where I was standing that it couldn’t be saved.”

Wells said area residents have always wondered about a fire happening in the building. Its age and size worried many, he said.
The sentiment was shared by Walker, who said just last year, firefighters got the layout of the building on a walkthrough designed to determine what they would do in case of a fire.

The planning helped as firefighters knew where the electric and gas valves were located and immediately shut them off upon walking in the door, he said.

Crews from Amherst, Oberlin, LaGrange, Wakeman and the townships of Rochester, Camden and Carlisle provided mutual aid — bringing the total of firefighters at the fire to about 50.

Only one required medical attention. Walker said Wellington firefighter Tim Polen was overcome by blowing smoke and debris. He was treated at the scene by paramedics for smoke inhalation.

“The guys — all the guys, even those from the other departments — handled it well and saved a lot,” Walker said.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 653-6268 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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