Longtime Bremen business damaged by fire

BREMEN – About $2 million in damages were reported to longtime Bremen business Seifert Construction after a fire roared through its building over the weekend.

Bremen Rushcreek Fire Chief Will Duvall said this is the most significant fire in the area since the turn of the 20th century, when the south end of the village burned during the oil boom.

“That’s the last time we had a fire this big,” Duvall said, explaining 12 departments and about 60 firefighters from across three counties, including Hocking and Perry counties, were called in to assist.

No one was inside the building, 8663 Lancaster New Lexington Road, at the time of the fire and no firefighters were injured while fighting the fire.

Seifert Construction, which has been in business in Bremen for more than 25 years, uses the building primarily to paint oil well tanks for Worthington Industries.

The call came in at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday from a passerby. Duvall said he can never be sure how long the fire had burned before someone noticed the fire, but it was “well-involved” by the time crews arrived.

“There was a plume of smoke about a half mile high,” he said about the all-metal building that was glowing from the heat. Flames were already showing from all sides of the building.

Water was pumped in from Rush Creek and shuttled from Bremen to fight the fire. Crews were on the scene for about six hours, closing down Ohio 664 in the process. Firefighters returned later on Sunday because areas of the building were still smoldering.

The building’s insulation, he said, is what likely caused the fire to travel so quickly from one wall to another.

On Monday, there is only one part of the building that remains intact: the building’s office. The office, which is the southeast corner of the building, escaped damage because of the fire-rated doors to seal off the area.

The cause of the fire may never be known. Duvall said there were many flammables inside the building and other factors that could have caused it.

Duvall did point out that nothing about the fire seemed suspicious in nature.

“We’re going to leave (the fire’s cause) as undetermined,” he said. However, the case file will remain open in case someone presents new information.

sroush@lancastereaglegazette.com

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