Store damaged in fire

By ROGER ADKINS, radkins@newsandsentinel.com
KANAWHA — Kirk’s IGA was damaged Wednesday when a compressor caught fire.

The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. at Kirk’s IGA, located along West Virginia 47 in Kanawha, said Chief Mike Daley of East Wood Volunteer Fire Department.

No one was injured. Everyone inside the building evacuated quickly, officials said.

Daley said the compressor that powers the store’s dairy cooler short-circuited and started a fire.

The compressor is located outside the store near the rear of the building, but the short-circuit caused wires inside the building to overheat, Daley said.

“By the time we got there, the power supply had burned out so we could just hit the fire with water,” Daley said.

The Wood County store, which is owned by Wanda Fout, sustained minimal fire damage, Daley said. Smoke filled the rear portion of the store, but it was contained to that area.

“They (store officials) did a fantastic job containing the fire. They closed the doors and did everything they were supposed to do,” Daley said.

Daley said the store should be able to reopen today. However, the compressor and the cooler it powered will have to be replaced.

“They did not lose any of their product. All of the damage was in the back of the building or outside,” Daley said. “The smoke didn’t make it to the area where they keep their product.”

Daley said East Wood was assisted by Lubeck and Mineral Wells volunteer fire departments. Medical crews from Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital also responded to the scene.

“We probably had close to 50 volunteer firefighters at the scene,” Daley said.

West Virginia 47 was shut down for about 30 minutes while crews contained the incident.