Hot Job Blackstone volunteer firefighter Kenny Davis led the attack Thursday afternoon in 94-degree temperatures behind the Walmart supercenter.
Blackstone Police are reviewing surveillance footage and are still trying to determine the cause of a large fire that brokeout Thursday afternoon, June 26th behind Walmart.
Firefighters from throughout Nottoway County battled the large flames in full turn-out gear and in heat indexes above 100 degrees.
The fire was reported at 5:33 p.m., and thick smoke behind the supercenter attracted the attention of onlookers. Blackstone Fire Chief Zac Beares said the items destroyed were numerous bales of cardboard and plastic, which were to be recycled.
Beares said more than 15,000 gallons of water were used to extinguish the blaze, which had begun spreading into nearby pines. “The bales were secured tightly with metal wire and compacted extremely tight. We contacted the Town of Blackstone for a rubber tire loader to help move the bales around and help break the bales open. That allowed us to get water into the bales and extinguish the fire.”
Blackstone called-out its $1.8 million ladder truck, which streams more than 600 gallons of water per minute.
Beares said Walmart has a compactor that compresses all of its plastics and cardboard, and a truck picks them up for recycling.
The shopping center building was never in danger, and no firefighters or employees were injured. Volunteers were on the scene for several hours.
Loading Comments