Hundreds Of Firefighters Battle Blaze In Wauseon

Ohio - As hundreds of people watched, some with tears streaming down their faces, tons of charred rubble came crashing down yesterday afternoon in downtown Wauseon, where a stubborn fire destroyed several businesses. About 300 firefighters from nearly two dozen departments battled the blaze that apparently started in a restaurant on North Fulton Street near Elm Street.

Three firefighters were treated for minor injuries, officials said.

Firefighters pumped more than 2 million gallons of water onto the fire as it ravaged the heart of the community's business district. Wauseon residents and businesses are being asked to conserve water and a boil-water advisory was issued.

Officials said it could take a couple of days for the city's water supply to recover.

For several hours, tanker trucks from more than a dozen fire departments shuttled thousands of gallons of water from out-of-town locations. Wauseon is 35 miles west of Toledo.

An investigator with the state fire marshal's office was on the scene but no cause had been determined by last night.

No damage estimate was made by Wauseon Fire Chief Marv Wheeler, but Mayor Jerry Dehnbostel said damage likely would run into the millions of dollars.

At one point, firefighters worked atop ladders stretching skyward from six aerial trucks provided by the Archbold, Whitehouse, Defiance, Fayette, Napoleon, and Wauseon fire departments.

By early afternoon, firefighters were "still chasing the fire," Chief Wheeler said. Layers of roofing materials atop the old buildings hampered firefighting efforts. Heavy excavating equipment was called in to knock down the building at North Fulton and Elm streets.

Some residents sobbed when the excavating equipment started to chew up chunks of the city's past.

"A lot of history is going down right now," Chief Wheeler said as the building, fondly remembered by many area residents as a former "5 and dime" store, crumpled into a smoldering pile of debris. He predicted firefighters would be on the scene for a couple of days.

Businesses destroyed included Doc Holliday's restaurant; a clothing store; a computer store, a health food store/coffee shop, a photography shop, a store-front church, and a real estate office. In addition, other businesses along Elm and Fulton streets suffered smoke and water damage.

Mayor Dehnbostel plans to meet tomorrow with Fulton County and Wauseon city officials to discuss creating a task force to seek grants and low-interest loans to help the businesses rebuild -- and to encourage the companies to remain in downtown Wauseon.

"The businesses are so vital to the city. We need to continue to have a downtown business district," he said.

It's likely that all of the heavily damaged buildings will be demolished, officials said.

For most of the day, billowing dark smoke could be seen from several miles away.

Throughout the downtown area, crowds gathered along sidewalks. Cameras on cell phones clicked. Camcorders whirred.

"I'm standing here about to cry. It is just so sad," said Paula Carroll of Wauseon, just after she delivered bunches of bananas, donated by a local business, to a food table set up for the firefighters. "These are gracious old buildings. It is so hard to see them go. It is just devastating. I am grateful to all of the firefighters who tried to save them."

Bill Olmstead of Wauseon said he was sickened when friends called to tell him about the fire.

"This town has been my life for 57 years. At Christmastime, we would go from store to store to shop," he recalled as he watched firefighters pour water onto the buildings where his family purchased holiday gifts through the years. "Downtown Wauseon still is home to me. It is heart sickening to see it go."

Even if the businesses rebuild, it won't be the same, he said. "It's the loss of memories. It won't be what we grew up with."

Larry Neuenschwander, a Realtor with Welles Bowen, said police called him at 2:30 a.m. yesterday to tell him about the fire. "They said I'd better come up here. Doc Holliday's was on fire."

He arrived at his office near the restaurant a few minutes later. "I saw flames out the back window of Doc Holliday's, and there was smoke out front."

Business owners and firefighters scrambled to remove office equipment, wedding dresses, photographs, computers, family photographs, and numerous other items from adjacent buildings.

"It was an hour and a half before firefighters said there was fire in my building," Mr. Neuenschwander said. The real estate office likely will operate temporarily out of a business location in Napoleon, he said.

Dan Baker, a Realtor and auctioneer at Welles Bowen, predicted the fire will make the city stronger.

"We are not going to give up.

It's going to take more than a fire to chase us out of here," he said.

He praised firefighters for "going the extra mile" to save what they could from the downtown businesses. Files from his office were loaded onto a cattle trailer and hauled to an office in Napoleon. He was relieved to find in the rescued items a much-treasured, autographed photo of NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip. "Think fast" is the message scrawled on the photograph that the award-winning driver gave to Mr. Baker.

The fire was discovered by Wauseon Police Officer Keith O'Brien, who was on routine patrol. He saw smoke drifting over the tops of businesses along North Fulton about 2 a.m. yesterday and called the fire department. Soon flames were shooting from the building, and a dozen hours later the fire continued to burn.

Throughout the day, many churches and businesses donated food and other supplies, including packages of heavy socks, said Robert Hartman, director of Fulton County's emergency management agency. Socks came in handy. "People's feet were wet and cold," he said.

The former Sterling's restaurant served as a shelter where firefighters could take a break and get a meal -- pizza, chicken, hot dogs, roast beef, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls.

Liana Baldwin, executive director of the Fulton County chapter of the American Red Cross, estimated that 300 people had been fed by midafternoon. Volunteers were making plans to serve supper and to stay as long as they were needed.

Along the sidewalks, some young people cried over the loss of prom and wedding dresses that were on racks in Shaw's Clothing store.

As the wind picked up and the temperature went down, Korina Thacker, a Wauseon firefighter who had been on the scene several hours, sought out a sheltered area behind a fire truck. Considering that her wedding dress likely was destroyed in the fire at Shaw's Clothing, the bride-to-be was upbeat.

"I am amazed at all of the help from everyone. I love that about a small town. When something happens, they come out of the woodwork to pitch in and help," Ms. Thacker said. She is to be married in September to Terry McIntosh, Jr., of Wauseon.

"I think my dress is in the pile of rubble," she said. Her husband-to-be's reaction: "The courthouse is looking mighty good right now."

Heather Starkweather, an employee at the Health Food Store that was destroyed, cringed as she glanced at the building.

"I painted the coffee cup on the window," she said. The over-sized coffee cup enticed customers to come in and sample some fresh-brewed beverages. She worked at the store three years. She shrugged when asked what happens now. "To be honest, I just don't know."

Photos by Jeff Moll
Written by The Blade

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