Fire destroys Perryville building

A Perryville fire raged late Monday night through Tuesday morning, destroying one building and threatening those around it. No injuries were reported.

At 11:28 p.m. Monday, the Perryville Fire Department was called for assistance with a fire on Jackson Street, Perryville Fire Department assistant chief William Jones said. Five other fire departments — Biehle, East Perry County, Chester, Saint Mary and Cape Girardeau — were called to the scene, and the six units contained the blaze and protected surrounding buildings.

Jones said the building, known as “The Mill,” is at 213 N. Jackson St. On the first floor was Mill Trading Co., a “somewhat inactive” feed store, Jones said. The second floor was occupied by an archery shop called C Outdoors.

“There was a third floor, and I believe it was in the process of being turned into an indoor archery range,” Jones said.

The Mill was surrounded by buildings on three sides, and the primary objective of the responding fire departments was to stop the fire from damaging them.

A fire scene at 213 N. Jackson St., is seen Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 in Perryville, Missouri.Fred Lynch

“It was obvious on our arrival that the fire building was going to be a completely defensive attack,” Jones said. “The main focus at that point was to protect the surrounding buildings.”

Fire was visible on all three floors of The Mill, Jones said, and the flames had begun to break through the roof.

“It did actually break through the roof. We hadn’t been there 10 minutes, and it had broke through the roof already. That building, at that point, was really a complete loss,” he said.

Buildings on the north side of The Mill sustained a small amount of damage, Jones said. Fire spread to the windows of other buildings and were extinguished. The windows of a nearby warehouse broke because of the intense heat from the fire.

The Perryville Fire Department and the mutual-aid companies left the scene about 4:30 a.m., Jones said.

A fire scene at 213 N. Jackson St., is seen Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 in Perryville, Missouri.Fred Lynch

“We were able to clear our engines and get them back in service, but we did leave our ladder truck ... on-scene and worked from around 4:20 to 7:47, extinguishing hot spots,” Jones said.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, but Jones said the fire marshal’s office was contacted, arrived on the scene and is conducting an investigation.

Mill Trading Co. and C Outdoors could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

bbrown@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

213 N. Jackson St, Perryville, MO