Firefighters from about 12 companies battle a blaze that heavily damaged B&B Structures in Bird-in-Hand Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the three-alarm fire has not been determined, and a state police fire marshal is investigating.
Firefighters from about 12 companies battle a blaze that heavily damaged B&B Structures in Bird-in-Hand Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the three-alarm fire has not been determined, and a state police fire marshal is investigating.
Firefighters from about 12 companies battle a blaze that heavily damaged B&B Structures in Bird-in-Hand Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the three-alarm fire has not been determined, and a state police fire marshal is investigating.
Firefighters from about 12 companies battle a blaze that heavily damaged B&B Structures in Bird-in-Hand Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the three-alarm fire has not been determined, and a state police fire marshal is investigating.
Firefighters from about 12 companies battle a blaze that heavily damaged B&B Structures in Bird-in-Hand Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the three-alarm fire has not been determined, and a state police fire marshal is investigating.
Firefighters from about 12 companies battle a blaze that heavily damaged B&B Structures in Bird-in-Hand Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the three-alarm fire has not been determined, and a state police fire marshal is investigating.
Firefighters from about 12 companies battle a blaze that heavily damaged B&B Structures in Bird-in-Hand Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the three-alarm fire has not been determined, and a state police fire marshal is investigating.
Firefighters from more than a dozen area companies battled a three-alarm blaze Tuesday that heavily damaged a Bird-in-Hand business.
Emergency units were dispatched to B&B Structures, 568 Gibbons Road, at 4:30 p.m. for a report of a fully involved structure fire.
Firefighters arrived at the shed-manufacturing firm to find much of a 300-foot-long structure, as well as a smaller building, engulfed in flames, according to Lafayette Assistant Chief David Keens.
"It was a big fireball," he said. "When we got here, I'd say about 75 percent of the long building was in flames."
Keens said the buildings contained lumber as well as paints and solvents. There were no explosions, but the paint sparked "some small fireworks," he said.
Nearby propane tanks also caused concern.
Crews worked quickly to establish a water supply from two nearby fill sites and were able to "get a good stop" on the blaze and keep it from spreading to a second 300-foot-long B&B Structures building that runs alongside the first, Keens said.
He said the structures are about 30 feet apart, with some small buildings in between.
Keens said the use of compressed air foam also aided fire crews in getting a handle on the blaze.
"Considering what we were faced with, I think it went pretty well," he said.
Still, about half of the business was lost, Keens said. He couldn't provide a damage estimate Tuesday night.
The blaze is being investigated by a state police fire marshal. Keens said the cause hadn't yet been determined.
He said he didn't know if anyone was working at the business when the fire broke out. According to newspaper records, the firm is owned by Samuel S. Blank.
At least 120 firefighters battled the blaze, which drew dozens from the Amish community, some of whom provided food and beverages to fire crews.
"There's a deep connection, a strong support within the community," Keens said. "Whether firefighters or not, they come to lend a hand. Others arrive out of nowhere with pies and cookies. It's an amazing thing to see, really."
Late Tuesday night, three small tractors tore at the charred debris as fire crews continued pouring water on the still-smoldering ruins.
"It's gonna be a long operation," Keens said.
He expected firefighters to remain at the scene overnight and possibly well into this morning.
According to newspaper records, in October 2011 B&B Structures expanded its operations with the purchase of an East Lampeter Township property. While retaining its Gibbons Road headquarters, the company planned to shift other operations to a 29,000-square-foot facility at 2200 Hathaway Road, adjacent to Conestoga Valley Middle School.
jtodd@lnpnews.com
