A fire destroyed two large self-storage buildings and their contents in Newbury Township in the early hours of Jan. 26.
A fire destroyed two large self-storage buildings and their contents in Newbury Township in the early hours of Jan. 26.
Fire Chief Ken Fagan said his department received the 9-1-1 call at 2:19 a.m. and found three or four units were fully involved when they arrived at L&S Development and Storage at 10579 Kinsman Road.
“We had extremely high winds blowing west to east making it burn fast,” the chief said over the phone Friday before noon.
It took the fire department and departments from Geauga, Ashtabula and Trumbull counties to get the fire under control, he said.
Firefighters remained at the scene until about 9 a.m., Fagan said.
“There were so many items — we call it a large fire load,” he said, adding there were cars and motorcycles in the buildings.
Gas tanks likely caused several explosions heard while the responders battled the blaze, he said.
A man was at one of the units when trucks arrived, Fagan said, adding the man suffered from smoke inhalation and was transported to University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center.
The Geauga County Fire Investigative Unit will be investigating the fire, he said.
By noon, a number of individuals had arrived to determine if there was anything they could salvage, but most items were charred and the walls of the buildings were destroyed.
While her husband was on the phone, one woman said he had tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of tools and equipment stored in the unit they rented.
The blackened shell of a sedan was tumbled on top of the wreckage.
According to the Geauga County Auditor’s Office website, the property, owned by Marc Dasen, was purchased in 2021 and the value is listed at $685,5000. The map showed four buildings and a house on 2.3 acres in the commercial district.
