West End damaged by late-night fire in Jamestown

West End Hide & Fur & Metal Company, Inc. on 82nd Ave. SE took water damage and extensive smoke damage after a late-night fire Tuesday, a hit that could delay cleanup and disrupt work at the Jamestown scrap metal and steel business. Fire Chief Brian Paulson of the Jamestown Rural Fire Department said crews were dispatched at 10:07 p.m. to 3445 82nd Ave. SE, where the company has operated in Jamestown since 1958.

Paulson said the fire started in a section of the building where sorted metals were stored in cardboard totes on pallets. The cardboard burned in layers, making overhaul work last longer than the initial fire attack. To keep the blaze from spreading, JRFD used two skidsteers to move product out of the building during the cleanup.

The response grew to 23 firefighters and eight apparatus on scene, and about an hour and a half into the incident, JRFD called for mutual aid from the Jamestown Fire Department as crews began running low on air bottles. Jamestown Area Ambulance also assisted at the scene. No injuries were reported, and Paulson said the building had only minimal structural damage, a sign that firefighters were able to save the structure even though smoke and water left a sizable repair job behind.

The cause remained under investigation. For a business that serves Jamestown and the surrounding area as a full-service scrap metal recycling center and new steel distribution center, damage to the building can ripple quickly into day-to-day operations, from handling inventory to restoring safe access for customers and employees. JRFD, which says it has protected life and property since 1949 and covers one of the largest fire districts in North Dakota, was back in the role it plays most often on the edge of town: stopping one fire from becoming a larger loss for a local business.