Fire damages B and B Handyman
A ceiling fire scorched the northwest corner of B & B Handyman Friday evening. There were no injuries, but the building suffered damage to the west side of the property.
Hillsboro Fire Department and police department personnel were notified of the fire at 6:15 p.m., according to Ben Steketee, Hillsboro fire chief.
An alert neighbor, Stan Thiessen, noticed a small fire on the floor of the store and notified the fire department, Steketee said.
Once on the scene, officials discovered that the fire was spreading over the floor and heading up a wall. They later determined that the fire had originated in the ceiling.
"We knocked down the flames almost immediately," Steketee said. The fire never spread beyond that corner of the store.
Fire personnel were able to leave the scene by 9 p.m. By that time, the fire had been extinguished for some time, and personnel had secured the area, Steketee said. Thiessen and owner John Beltz then put boards over the windows.
Attempts to contact Beltz before press time were unsuccessful.
Ron Oldridge, a Kansas State Fire Marshal Inspector, visited the building Sunday and determined that a hot stove pipe in the ceiling started the fire.
The heat from the pipe caused the wood beams and installation in the ceiling to smolder, and some of the embers fell to the floor, settling the floor on fire, Steketee said.
The heating stove was properly installed, he said.
B & B Handyman is located at 136 N. Ash, across the street from Cooperative Grain Supply.
