An early morning fire caused extensive damage to the Audrina Mill in Monroe County on Monday, but decisive action by a contingent of volunteer firefighters contained the flames before the blaze could spread.
Union Volunteer Fire Department took the lead in battling the fire, assisted by units from Ronceverte, Lindside and Alderson. No injuries were reported.
Owned by the West Virginia Great Barrel Company, the Gap Mills complex contains both a sawmill and a barrel stave production facility. While the sawmill was heavily damaged, the stave facility was mostly spared, according to Tom Crabtree, one of the company’s managers.
“We’re just thankful no one was hurt,” Crabtree said Monday afternoon.
He would not speculate on the cause of the fire, saying he expected someone from the West Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office to arrive at the scene later in the day to begin the process of making that determination.