The clean-up continued over the weekend following a Friday night fire at the McLane Midwest Distribution Center on Danville’s east side.
Fire Captain Jerry Sparks says the blaze was contained to a cold storage area inside the sprawling building, but there was also considerable water damage when the fire triggered the sprinkler system.
Sparks says firefighters battled flames that were burning food products and cups that were stacked 30 feet high. He adds, fortunately there was a concrete wall behind them which prevented the flames from spreading.
‘’There was a lot of damage, but there was a lot saved,’’ added Sparks.
There were two Danville Firefighters who suffered minor injuries while fighting the blaze but they did not require hospital treatment. Preliminary damage estimates are being placed at $600-thousand dollars. The figure includes $200-thousand dollars in damages to the building and $400-thousand dollars to contents.
It was the second incident at McLane in less than a month. On June 10th a severe thunderstorm swept through the Danville area damaging a section of roof at the business.
The Illinois State Fire Marshal is assisting in the investigation into what caused Friday’s fire. The 3-alarm blaze was fought by 15 Danville Firefighters who were on the scene from 10 o’clock Friday night until just after 5 o’clock Saturday morning.
