COLUMBUS – Explosions were heard as flames leaped skyward from the scene of a two-alarm fire that lit the early-morning sky over West Columbus.
Fire broke out at approximately 3:30 a.m. in the SJT Depot warehouse, 2662 Fisher Road, Columbus Division of Fire spokeswoman Battalion Chief Tracy Smith said.
When crews arrived, they saw only smoke at first, but heard several explosions, apparently from propane tanks inside the building, and the fire spread quickly after that, forcing firefighters to withdraw to defensive mode after about an hour on the scene, Smith said.
More than two-dozen fire trucks and 75 firefighters were sent to help fight the fire.
Smith says 70 percent of the building, which houses a landscape company and trucking firm, collapsed in the blaze. There werer a number of wooden pallets and cardboard stored in the building, fueling the fire, Smith said.
She expected firefighters to remain on the scene much of the morning, extinguishing flames and smoldering debris.
Classes at a nearby school were canceled as a precaution.
Smith says firefighters were having problems getting enough water to put on the fire because most of the hydrants nearby were privately owned and did not provide the same amount of pressure and volume as city hydrants.
No injuries were reported.