photo by: Photo by Jennifer Compston-Strough

Firefighters douse flames that damaged five buildings at Trigg Construction and Home Improvement in Neffs on Tuesday afternoon. OR&W and Cumberland Trail fire districts assisted the Neffs Fire Department in fighting the blaze.

A fire that struck Trigg Construction and Home Improvement damaged five buildings Tuesday afternoon, but no injuries were reported.

Neffs Fire Chief Mike Knowlton said one building was a total loss, while four others sustained damage from flames, smoke and water. According to Belmont County Central Dispatch, the fire was reported at 3:10 p.m. Firefighters had doused the majority of the flames within 45 minutes, but they were still extinguishing hot spots nearly two hours after the blaze began.

Knowlton said it appeared the buildings involved were used primarily for storage of vehicles and materials. The company’s office building was not affected by the fire.

The chief said no injuries resulted from the fire and noted that the biggest complicating factor was getting fire trucks and personnel to the scene at the somewhat remote location of 64542 Sand Hill Road. He said the nearest fire hydrant was 1,200-1,300 feet away from the structures, but once it was tapped it provided plenty of water. He noted that in addition to his department, the OR&W and Cumberland Trail fire districts responded. The Salvation Army’s canteen truck was also on site, supporting the firefighters with food, drinks and other assistance.

Trigg owner Gina Fuller was not present when the fire broke out, but she stood watching as the fire was extinguished, talking with reporters and staff members as they arrived.

“The vehicles all got out but one, an old dump truck,” Fuller said, noting that her husband and son and other staff rushed to move the vehicles to safety once the fire was noticed.

Fuller said the structures involved were built in the 1980s. In addition to vehicles, she said they had been used to store building materials such as paint, rubber roofing and roofing tar.

She said the company had been in the process of cleaning some of the buildings out, and she believed the presence of those materials made the fire burn quickly.

“I don’t know how it started,” she said. “My husband and son were in the office, and the secretary looked out the window and said, ‘The building is on fire.'”

Fuller said she was relieved that no one was hurt, adding that the incident did not impact her family’s home and that the company is fully insured.

“We will build back bigger and better,” she added.

At the scene Tuesday afternoon, Knowlton said the cause of the fire was still being determined. He could not be reached during the evening for additional comment.