TWIN FALLS FIRE CHIEF: New Year’s Eve Fire Very Dangerous
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX)-Firefighters had to pull back from attempting to fight a storage facility fire from the inside as conditions became very dangerous on New Year's Eve. Twin Falls Fire Chief Les Kenworthy said the battalion chief working December 31, made the decision to pull firefighters out of the historic building that caught fire at around 10:15 p.m. Online the building is listed as the Ford Transfers and Storage Company on Wall Ave in downtown Twin Falls. Chief Kenworthy said the building was a storage facility with roughly 40 individual household and business storage units. At first, firefighters made an offensive effort to extinguish the blaze from inside but switched to a defensive attack from the outside using multiple fire engines, including two ladder trucks pouring water from above. Firefighters were able to protect several other buildings located near the fire. Chief Kenworthy said if there was any damage to the other buildings it would have been minimal. The fire forced the closure of traffic on 6th Ave West for some time as smoke and steam billowed from the burning building. Firefighters fought the blaze into the new year and left the scene at around 7 a.m. Saturday. Cheif Kenworthy said the Idaho State Fire Marshal would be on scene today along with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. It is still too early to tell what the cause of the blaze was. Kenworthy said Monday morning the building was still too dangerous to get into, the basement was full of water, and much of the other levels were covered in ice. City crews would work to drain the basement so investigators could enter the building. Kenworthy said the cold temperatures made the fire difficult to fight. There were no major injuries as a result, only one firefighter sustained minor injuries while battling the blaze. Chief Kenworthy said there wasn't an estimate on the cost of the damage however, many personal and sentimental items were lost. He said he was told the facility had stored several vintage pianos.