AMHERST TWP. — A self-storage business caught fire Thursday when a tractor two men were working on in one of the units went up in flames, injuring one of the men.
BRUCE BISHOP/CHRONICLE
Firefighters reposition as they fight a fire at Elyria South Storage on Route 58 in South Amherst.
Elyria South Storage, 9109 Leavitt Road, was heavily damaged in the ensuing fire, which spread through portions of the building, sending large plumes of black smoke into the air. The smoke was visible from miles away.
Fire crews from South Amherst, Amherst, Oberlin and Elyria and Florence townships responded about 11:40 a.m. and had largely extinguished the fire by 12:30 p.m.
Firefighters from Amherst used a tower truck to douse the roof, and firefighters from multiple departments were still dousing hot spots about 2 p.m.
South Amherst Fire Chief Al Schmitz said it would take some time to determine exactly what caused the tractor to ignite, and firefighters on the scene declined to comment on what they encountered upon entering the storage unit.
Jason Fisher said he and his friend, Matt Saylar, were working on a tractor and siphoning some gas from a gas tank when it suddenly caught fire.
“We were working on the tractor and siphoning gas, and all I know is it went up in flames,” Fisher said.
Saylar’s face was burned, and he was transported to University Hospitals Amherst Health Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Joe Abraham, a roofing contractor, was working with a crew installing a new rubber roof on the storage business when the fire started.
Abraham credited Fisher and Saylar with quickly alerting his crew to get off the roof and away.
“I’m just glad he yelled and told us, because the fire was on the roof within five minutes,” Abraham said. “We got off the roof thanks to these guys.”
After the fire reached the roof, it spread to new rubber roofing materials which also quickly caught fire. Abraham said the fire probably could have been worse if his crew had started to put glue down for the new roof, something they were preparing to do when the blaze started.
David Muschitz, who lives next to Elyria South Storage, said he heard explosions, looked out his window and saw roofers running from the building as smoke rolled across his property and flames shot out of the roof.
“I was inside watching TV, and I heard a boom, boom, boom,” Muschitz said. “I came out and there was just tons of smoke. There were multiple explosions.”
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