Firefighters battle Aycock tractor blaze for hours
By John Joyce
Published in News on August 5, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Goldsboro Fire Chief Gary Whaley hauls a hose for a backup water supply from drop tanks put in place by additional fire departments on the scene of the Aycock Tractor Supply fire.
An investigation is under way today into the cause of an eight-alarm fire that damaged Aycock Tractor Supply on Tuesday evening.
No one was injured, and officials have so far ruled out anything suspicious.
The Goldsboro Fire Department and seven area volunteer fire departments used 10 tankers and two ladder trucks to contain the fire in an operation the size of which fire officials said they haven't seen since the Paramount Theatre burned down in downtown Goldsboro in 2005.
The Goldsboro Fire Department received the call at 6:36 p.m. that a working structure fire was in progress at a building along U.S. 117 South.
"The first engines arrived on scene and reported heavy smoke and fire," Goldsboro Fire Chief Gary Whaley said.
The flames in the structure were not the only concern, Whaley said.
"The fire was impinging upon an L.P. gas tank. We knocked the fire away from the tank," he added.
Water supply quickly became a problem. A mutual aid call went out for assistance from nearby volunteer fire departments. The first to arrive on scene was Belfast.
"The main body of the fire was in an upstairs office, Whaley said.
Crews made their way up the stairs, but the second-floor started to give way.
"It went just before they got up there," Whaley said. "Nobody was injured, but it limited their access," he added.
Soon after, the fire rekindled.
"It came back again, and this time the fire ran the walls and got into ceiling," he said.
Goldsboro Assistant Fire Chief Frank Sasser had command of the scene and coordinated fire attack operations.
Sasser, still on scene at 7:30 this morning, confirmed the fire began in an upstairs office area above the showroom floor.
He said the cause remained under investigation and the cost of the damage had yet to be assessed.
"We are waiting on B-shift and their fire investigators to come on duty," Sasser said.
Sasser and two engines stood by overnight, putting out hot spots and keeping an eye on the structure in case of another rekindle.
The fire that began at 6:30 was not called under control until 9:30 and was not definitively ruled "out" until 10:15 p.m.
"We had a good water supply, good pressure, good water, but we only had one hydrant," Sasser said.
Additional hydrants were available in the area, but run on the same water line, Sasser said.
"We would have been taking water away from ourselves," he said.
A hydrant at East Elm Street and U.S. 117 Bypass was too far away.
Mar Mac, El-Roy, New Hope and Patetown volunteer fire departments also responded.
"Mar Mac set up drop tanks, portable pools, right there on 117 for us," Sasser said.
The drop tanks filled with water and were resupplied by tankers -- 10 of them operating at once at the height of the fire -- which were being filled by pumpers nearby.
That supply kept a steady stream of water going to the ladder trucks where firefighters used hoses to rain down on top of the metal frame building and to the crews attacking the fire from underneath.
Belfast deployed its special response vehicle, a sort of a mobile command center equipped with a refrigerator and cooling area, Sasser said. Firefighters coming from inside the burning building seeking relief from the heat were dropping to their knees, shedding their air packs and overcoats as quickly as they could.
"Belfast came out and set up their rehab station. It has water, cooling towels and cooling chairs," Whaley said.
"In the heat of the day, they can usually stay inside a working fire 20 minutes," he said.
Tuesday night, some firefighters remained inside the burning tractor supply store as long as 45 minutes.
"Anytime someone gets overheated, it can be dangerous," Whaley said.
EMS workers stood by, checking firefighters' vital signs and offering aid to those showing symptoms of heat exhaustion.
Sasser said the American Red Cross later came out with water and food.
In all, the fire burned for more than three hours, damaging much of the interior of the building. By daybreak, however, Sasser learned that some portions of the building had been saved.
"The showroom, when you walk into the counter, that was burnt. And the offices and storerooms upstairs where they kept the paperwork," he said.
The shop area showed little fire damage at all, he said, but water and smoke damage was apparent. And in the parts area, some of the parts got wet, but there was very little damage.
"I spoke with the owner earlier, he thinks he can salvage that," Sasser said.
The owner, Russell Aycock, could not be reached for comment.
During the night, as firefighters worked to knock down the fire and save as much of the building as they could, throngs of onlookers lined up behind a barbed-wire fence that separates the service road from the highway. Many of them said they were employees and family members of employees. None of them would comment, but they consoled each other throughout the event. Husbands and wives hugged and a father held his daughter close as they watched the building burn.
With much of the building saved by the efforts of city and county firefighters, EMS and law enforcement officers the night before, the likelihood exists that the business -- in operation 39 years, according to its website -- will eventually be back up and running.