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PITTSBURG —
Four shipping containers owned by Jake's Fireworks caught on fire Tuesday night, but no one was injured in the blaze.
Practically every fire department in the county responded to the blaze at 2713 W. 4th St., which started close to 6:30 p.m.
Jake's employees, who are constantly on duty in the run-up to the Fourth of July, were nearby when the fire started.
"Our guys have been working from when the fire first broke. This place here, they work 24 hours a day," said John Marietta, Jake's Fireworks vice president.
Bryan Mehlsen, Pittsburg, was mowing his lawn nearby when he noticed the signs of a fire.
"There was smoke blowing over. There have been a lot of fields being burned around lately. But then there was the unmistakeable scent of fireworks," Melsen said. "We put two and two together."
Mehlsen and other witnesses first saw white smoke, then dark, black smoke coming from the area. Then fireworks began shooting from the site. Even as late as 10 p.m., there were a few fireworks sparking up.
"I was worried there might be explosions," Mehlsen said. "All of those fireworks packed in like sardines."
Fortunately, fire officials said Tuesday, no one was injured. Furthermore, the fireworks are Class C, which are the consumer, retail fireworks.
Baker Fire Department were in charge of the scene, but crews from Girard, Arma and Frontenac responded. Pittsburg Fire Chief Scott Crain said that these were not the display-type fireworks as seen at major fireworks shows. He added that water was having to be hauled to the scene because of its fairly remote location.
Marietta said that it would be pure speculation at this point to indicate what was the cause of the fire. Four shipping containers caught fire, he said, but three of them had only cardboard inside. He said that the important thing was that no one was hurt.
"Do I have the warm fuzzies? No. But when no one's hurt, it makes you feel better," Marietta said.
Both Marietta and Crain indicated that this incident would have no impact upon Jake's efforts to purchase and relocate to the former Superior Industries building in the Northeast Industrial Park in Pittsburg.
"It's because of this that we want them in Superior. There's good water, good sprinklers, they're going to have aisles between products, and they won't have stuff stacked on top of stuff like this," Crain said.
Four shipping containers owned by Jake's Fireworks caught on fire Tuesday night, but no one was injured in the blaze.
Practically every fire department in the county responded to the blaze at 2713 W. 4th St., which started close to 6:30 p.m.
Jake's employees, who are constantly on duty in the run-up to the Fourth of July, were nearby when the fire started.
"Our guys have been working from when the fire first broke. This place here, they work 24 hours a day," said John Marietta, Jake's Fireworks vice president.
Bryan Mehlsen, Pittsburg, was mowing his lawn nearby when he noticed the signs of a fire.
"There was smoke blowing over. There have been a lot of fields being burned around lately. But then there was the unmistakeable scent of fireworks," Melsen said. "We put two and two together."
Mehlsen and other witnesses first saw white smoke, then dark, black smoke coming from the area. Then fireworks began shooting from the site. Even as late as 10 p.m., there were a few fireworks sparking up.
"I was worried there might be explosions," Mehlsen said. "All of those fireworks packed in like sardines."
Fortunately, fire officials said Tuesday, no one was injured. Furthermore, the fireworks are Class C, which are the consumer, retail fireworks.
Baker Fire Department were in charge of the scene, but crews from Girard, Arma and Frontenac responded. Pittsburg Fire Chief Scott Crain said that these were not the display-type fireworks as seen at major fireworks shows. He added that water was having to be hauled to the scene because of its fairly remote location.
Marietta said that it would be pure speculation at this point to indicate what was the cause of the fire. Four shipping containers caught fire, he said, but three of them had only cardboard inside. He said that the important thing was that no one was hurt.
"Do I have the warm fuzzies? No. But when no one's hurt, it makes you feel better," Marietta said.
Both Marietta and Crain indicated that this incident would have no impact upon Jake's efforts to purchase and relocate to the former Superior Industries building in the Northeast Industrial Park in Pittsburg.
"It's because of this that we want them in Superior. There's good water, good sprinklers, they're going to have aisles between products, and they won't have stuff stacked on top of stuff like this," Crain said.
