Quick response and knockdown keeps damage to a minimum at CZ-USA fire
NORWICH – The Norwich and Oxford Fire Departments, assisted by the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, the Department of Transportation and Oxford Ambulance, responded to a structure fire at 5169 State Highway 12 in the Town of Norwich yesterday, quickly knocking down the blaze before it could spread to an adjacent building at CZ-USA and Dan Wesson Firearms Manufacturing.
The fire was first reported at approximately 11:30 a.m. and shut down State Highway 12 from the Wal-Mart Supercenter to the Halfway House bridge for approximately three hours, said Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo, who was on the scene.
According to Chawgo, the fire – which is still under investigation by the Chenango County Bureau of Fire – began in the basement of one of two log cabin structures at CZ-USA, where firearms are test-fired and ammunition is stored. The blaze was contained to the basement, he added, although there was extensive heat and smoke damage to the structure’s first floor.
“You could hear the ammunition popping,” said Chawgo, who added battling a basement fire is always challenging. “Basically, you’re climbing down a natural chimney and you have to get through all of that heat and smoke that wants to come up.”
Structural damage was minimal, however, and Chawgo said – in his opinion – the building is repairable. The second log cabin, connected to the first via an underground tunnel, suffered minor smoke damage, he added.
“The guys did a great job and I’m proud of them ... they should be proud of themselves,” added the chief. “All in all, things probably worked out as good as they could. In my experience, if this fire had happened at night and not been noticed right away, we would have had fire in both buildings.”
A pair of injuries were reported at the scene, according to authorities, including one civilian who suffered minor burns in an attempt to put out the fire, and a firefighter who was transported to UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital with undisclosed injuries and subsequently released. Traffic, however, was a major issue, said Chawgo, particularly due to its heavy volume along State Highway 12. At approximately 7:30 p.m., emergency personnel were again called to the scene after a southbound vehicle struck one of the county’s fire vehicles. No injuries were reported at the time.
“This is a good chance to remind people that, when traveling past the scene of an accident or fire, they should be paying attention to the road, not the scene,” said Chawgo. “Once the road was reopened, we noticed some people driving past, turning around and driving by again. That creates an issue too. They want to see what’s going on but they need to be aware of the emergency traffic. It’s natural to want to see what’s going on, but they need to pay attention to the road.”
The fire was first reported at approximately 11:30 a.m. and shut down State Highway 12 from the Wal-Mart Supercenter to the Halfway House bridge for approximately three hours, said Norwich Fire Chief Tracy Chawgo, who was on the scene.
According to Chawgo, the fire – which is still under investigation by the Chenango County Bureau of Fire – began in the basement of one of two log cabin structures at CZ-USA, where firearms are test-fired and ammunition is stored. The blaze was contained to the basement, he added, although there was extensive heat and smoke damage to the structure’s first floor.
“You could hear the ammunition popping,” said Chawgo, who added battling a basement fire is always challenging. “Basically, you’re climbing down a natural chimney and you have to get through all of that heat and smoke that wants to come up.”
Structural damage was minimal, however, and Chawgo said – in his opinion – the building is repairable. The second log cabin, connected to the first via an underground tunnel, suffered minor smoke damage, he added.
“The guys did a great job and I’m proud of them ... they should be proud of themselves,” added the chief. “All in all, things probably worked out as good as they could. In my experience, if this fire had happened at night and not been noticed right away, we would have had fire in both buildings.”
A pair of injuries were reported at the scene, according to authorities, including one civilian who suffered minor burns in an attempt to put out the fire, and a firefighter who was transported to UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital with undisclosed injuries and subsequently released. Traffic, however, was a major issue, said Chawgo, particularly due to its heavy volume along State Highway 12. At approximately 7:30 p.m., emergency personnel were again called to the scene after a southbound vehicle struck one of the county’s fire vehicles. No injuries were reported at the time.
“This is a good chance to remind people that, when traveling past the scene of an accident or fire, they should be paying attention to the road, not the scene,” said Chawgo. “Once the road was reopened, we noticed some people driving past, turning around and driving by again. That creates an issue too. They want to see what’s going on but they need to be aware of the emergency traffic. It’s natural to want to see what’s going on, but they need to pay attention to the road.”
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