UPDATED – A fire at a commercial facility in New Minas was put out minutes after it was called in, but not before a parts trailer sustained heavy damage.
New Minas Volunteer Fire Department fire chief Jim Redmond confirmed three firetrucks and 22 firefighters responded to the incident on Minas Warehouse Road, which was called in at 4:37 p.m. Aug. 29 and reported multiple trailers on fire.
“When I was enroute, I got calls from other firefighters on the radio that heavy black smoke was coming from the area. When I got there, I saw that it was just one trailer on fire,” said fire chief Jim Redmond.
Crews arrived on the scene shortly after and extinguished the single trailer within minutes using a turret – the nozzle on the front of the firetruck.
The trailer, which had been damaged prior to being purchased as a parts source, was located at the property’s back lot, near other trailers many yards away from the main facility.
Redmond confirmed the fire was sparked by a metal cut-off saw which had been used to salvage parts from the trailer.
A nearby trailer at the scene appeared to have also sustained damage, but it was already damaged in a previous fire that occurred in Amherst earlier this year. This trailer was also purchased for parts, and in New Minas to be salvaged.
The owner of the company involved said there was no financial loss as a result of the fire, which broke out while parts were being removed from a trailer.
Crews left the scene within the hour. It was also confirmed at the scene that no one was injured as a result of the fire.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to indicate that one trailer burned as a result of the fire and a nearby trailer that appeared to be a total loss at the scene was previously damaged beyond repair as a result of a fire that occurred in Amherst earlier this year. The owner of the company in possession of the parts trailer that burned indicated that this trailer was also damaged before the company purchased it, and there was no financial loss as a result of the blaze.
