ARAB STATION HEAVILY DAMAGED BY FIRE; ATTACHED HOUSE SAVED

ZALMA -- Firefighters quickly controlled a convenience-store fire Wednesday.

The interior of Arab Station at highways C and 51 six miles south of Zalma was heavily damaged by the fire, but the owner's home was saved when firefighters went directly to the source to extinguish it.

The owner, James R. Meyer, and his wife live in a building attached to the south side of the business.

Marble Hill Fire Chief Jim Bollinger said teams of firefighters began attacking the flame from the inside almost as soon as backup units arrived. The Zalma Fire Department was first on the scene, responding at 1:41 a.m., and kept the fire in check until Marble Hill and Advance units arrived.

Once Marble Hill was on the scene, firefighters began entering the structure in teams to "get the water where the fire is," Bollinger said.

Entering the structure was a risky move, especially when an air compressor crashed through the roof to the floor. Bollinger said a team was making its entry when the compressor fell. They backed off, examined the scene and continued the entry.

Firefighters entered through the rear of the store in the area that was most heavily involved. Bollinger said this was so firefighters would have a shorter journey to where they had to be.

Bollinger said none of the 30 firefighters was injured or suffered overdue distress from the heat or smoke.

Fire instructor John Sachen, who was on the scene to assist, said firefighters brought the blaze under control within about 10 minutes.

Sachen said three tankers responded to the fire and their combined 8,000 gallons of water were enough to extinguish it. "They had more than enough water because they made an aggressive interior attack," he said. "Essentially after their arrival there was no significant additional damage. They stopped the fire where it was when they arrived."

"The building is a concrete-block building with a house attached to it," Bollinger said. "The fire never got to the house."

James "Butch" Amann, a fire investigator for the Missouri Division of Fire Safety, said the fire was accidental and probably started in the rear of the store in the space between the roof and ceiling. He said he believes it was electrical but couldn't prove that because of the damage to that area of the building.