MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — Fire crews from multiple agencies spent most of Friday battling a major fire in downtown Moundsville. The fire was first reported just before 10 a.m. at the Remke Furniture building on Jefferson Avenue.
Crews arrived to heavy smoke and flames. The fire burned rapidly and before it was finally under control in the mid-afternoon, the fire had burned through at least six buildings in Moundsville.
Crews from across Marshall County as well as neighboring Ohio and Wetzel County and several from across the river in Ohio responded to the fire. Marshall County emergency officials reported at one point more than 20 fire departments were on the scene.
Residents in the area were told to shelter in place due to the thick black smoke rolling from the fire throughout the morning. More than 3,000 customers of AEP lost power during the blaze. Most of those were restored by Friday night.
People in neighboring businesses and homes were evacuated as crews worked to contain the fire.
Fire fighters indicated various remodelings of the buildings through the years created difficulty in getting the fires out. Officials said various fake walls and ceilings throughout the structures enabled fire to hide and smolder before rekindling. Officials say ten separate addresses in the block were heavily damaged or destroyed
Moundsville Police and Marshall County Emergency Management officials assisted firefighters by putting drones overhead to give a better look at hot spots within the structures. Eventually the Remke building caved in along with several neighboring structures. Officials estimated it would take several days to tear apart debris and continue to douse hot spots within the fire.
Nobody was injured and a cause for the fire is not known.