Quick action limits lumber yard fire

April 22, 2022 admin COMMUNITY 0

Firefighters tend to some hot spots at the Ponderosa Supply Co. fire on Tuesday, April 19. (Roger Allen photo).

Quick and collaborative work by Montezuma and other area fire departments prevented a Tuesday, April 19 blaze at Ponderosa Supply Co. from causing more serious damage than it did.

No one was reported injured.

Ponderosa Supply, which includes a lumber yard, is located at 291 Woodland Road at Lake Ponderosa.

Smoke from the firse at Ponderosa Supply Co. could be seen throughout the Montezuma area. But quick work by firefighters limited damage. (Shelly Taylor photo).

Fire departments from Brooklyn, Malcom, New Sharon, Searsboro and Grinnell responded to a mutual aid call from the Montezuma Fire Department.

As many as 16 fire trucks were observed at the scene.

A member of the Bill Ahrens family, owners of the business, said the fire was believed to have started east of the facility’s buildings and moved west.

Montezuma firefighters discuss their next operation as fire crews from New Sharon extinguish the rmains of a storage building blaze at the Ponderosa Supply Co. fire (Roger Allen photo).

Out buildings and lumber stored outside, east of the headquarters building, were destroyed, but firefighters prevented the blaze from reaching the main structure.

Roger Allen contributed information and photos for this story.

There was some burned lumber (left), but there would have been more were it not for the quick work of area fire departments. (Roger Allen photo).
Teamwork as the name of the day as New Sharon firefighters joined five other departments in dousing the Ponderosa Supply Co. blaze. (Roger Allen photo).