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Downtown Fires: Quick Action Has Saved Neighboring Buildings

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

Keith Wacaster with Park Place Truss uses undamaged piping to prepare an order for a customer on Tuesday. The truss assembly building, which is believed to be one of the oldest buildings in Sebring, was completely destroyed by a Jan. 17 fire.

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By MANDY SHEETS | Highlands Today

Published: January 23, 2008

SEBRING — Downtown Sebring has had three major commercial fires in three months, two of which destroyed buildings from the 1920s.

Sebring Fire Chief Brad Batz said the wood structures of many of the city's older buildings can lead to large-scale fires.

"The wood itself is not a fire hazard but if it is ignited, the old wood is so dry that it burns really hot and really fast," Batz said.

The Jan. 17 fire that destroyed the assembly area of Park Place Truss, located at 454 Park St., is still under investigation. The building may have been the oldest structure in Sebring and was previously used as a lumber yard.

Batz said the combination of the old wood structure, and lumber and fuel housed at the business created a fire that took more than four hours to get under control.

Batz said no neighboring buildings had any damage from the large fire.

"I think it speaks very highly of our guys that we were able to fight that fire (at Park Place Truss) without losing any neighboring buildings," Batz said. "We had the right combination of equipment, water supply and talent."

Containing fires is extremely important, Batz said, especially with old buildings.

"All of downtown Sebring is wood construction and, you can see, the buildings along the Circle are either connected or very close," Batz said. "If we were ever to have a fire in that area, it would be crucial to contain the fire before it spread to neighboring buildings."

He said fires many years ago in the downtown areas of Lake Placid and Wauchula have resulted in the loss of an entire block.

"It's no fault of the departments; once those fires get going, they move fast," Batz said. "They say a fire doubles in size every 30 seconds."

The department's ladder truck allows firefighters to pump 1,750 gallons of water per minute onto the fire, which Batz said helps them fight the fires effectively.

Batz said firefighters also create preplans, which include information about emergency contacts, the closest fire hydrants, storage of materials and aerial shots of the buildings. Firefighters study the preplan on the way to a fire and determine tactics for fighting the fire.

Batz said electrical problems are often the source of fires in old buildings, and owners should work with electricians to update the wiring, especially when remodeling a building.

Having properly functioning alarm systems also can lead to a faster response from fire departments, Batz said.

Businesses ReboundAfter Fires

Fred Karthauser, sawyer for Park Place Truss, said the 10 employees are still filling as many orders as possible and are operating with aid of a generator that costs about $250 per eight hours.

"We are getting the same amount of work done; we just have to work two times as hard to do it," Karthauser said Tuesday morning. "Not having power is slowing us down. It's a bit like trying to work in the Stone Age. We can't afford to slow down, so we are staying busy."

A Nov. 30 fire damaged three connected buildings at 341 Lemon Ave., which comprised a plumbing business, a gift store, a beauty shop and apartments housing 21 people. Batz said this fire started in the kitchen of one of the second-story apartments and spread quickly because of the wood structure.

Terry Eures, co-owner of the Lemon Avenue building, said he is still working with the insurance company to file claims.

Highlands Plumbing, which sustained mostly water damage, is fully operational but he continues to lose revenue from the two other businesses and four apartments, which were unable to be occupied.

The Nov. 27 fire at My School Preschool, which was located at 1002 Persimmon Ave., did not sustain damage to the structure because it is a metal building. The contents of the building, however, were ruined from the fire, water and smoke damage. Batz said the cause of that fire was determined to be an electrical problem in the rear storage room.

The preschool has relocated to Living Waters Church of God, located at 4571 Sparta Road.

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