ALLENVILLE WOODWORKING SHOP LEVELED BY FIRE

ALLENVILLE -- A fire Monday in a woodworking shop caused a number of small explosions as liquid propane tanks and aerosol cans sent debris over 100 feet through the air, firefighters said.

Although no one was injured, the potential danger was high, said John Sachen, training officer for the Delta Fire Department.

The fire was reported about 10:30 a.m., with firefighters from departments in Delta, Whitewater and Gordonville responding.

"When the first firefighters got there, they were still having explosions," Sachen said.

Brian Simpson said he first noticed that the tin shed a few hundred feet from his home was burning when he came out of the shower and smelled smoke. He looked outside to see if he could put it out by himself and saw the side of the shed nearest his home engulfed in flames. Simpson called 911.

Ed Hardgrove, who resides with Simpson at his house on Penney Street, had been burning trash in a barrel behind the shed and left it for about 20 minutes to drive to Delta. Hardgrove thought that that fire had died down before he left.

Sachen could see the smoke from the intersection of Bloomfield Road and Highway 74 as he drove to the scene, he said.

The 15 firefighters who responded were able to get the fire under control shortly after they arrived, Sachen said.

The shed and contents were destroyed. Sheets of corrugated tin lay on top of each other. An electrical pole several feet from the shed was burned at the base and charred nearly to the top. Even the white siding on Simpson's home more than 100 feet away was blackened.

Sachen attributed the damage to radiant heat released from exploding propane tanks the size used for a barbecue grill. A five-gallon tank can release 600,000 BTUs when it explodes, he said, which is the equivalent of the heat put out in a one-story home over 10 hours.

"You can have a fire truck across the street under these conditions and its not going to be able to stop something from burning," Sachen said. "It's an overwhelming amount of heat, and people don't realize it."

One Delta firefighter was taken to a hospital and treated for heat stress. He was released Monday, Sachen said.

No one was struck by any exploding materials, he said. Sachen pulled out of a pocket the bottom of an aerosol can that had been shot 125 feet across the yard. "If someone had gotten in the way of this, they would have been hurt," he said.

Firefighters battled shifting winds, which at times threatened to carry the fire to Simpson's and a neighboring house.

Along with the propane tanks, various paints and paint thinners were stored in the shed.

Simpson, a carpenter, lost tools in the shed as well as three cars and a flat-bottomed boat next to the shed.

He said he had just bought a $600 circular saw six months ago, and a new wood lathe had not even been taken out of its box.

"There was a 75-year-old cedar chest in there that I was restoring too," he said.