Fire at Montcalm area salvage yard to be investigated by WV Fire Marshal

Apr. 15—MONTCALM — Exhausted firefighters left the scene early Friday morning after spending Thursday afternoon and all night battling a major blaze which engulfed a Mercer County salvage yard and spread into the neighboring forest.

Every Mercer County fire department, three from McDowell County and one from Tazewell County, Va. were dispatched starting about 2:45 p.m. Thursday after Mercer 911 was notified about a fire burning at Nelson Pigg Auto Salvage along Browning Lambert Mountain Road. Towering columns of black smoke could be seen from as far away as Bluewell and the City of Princeton.

The fire's cause had not been determined Friday. Senior Firefighter Ralph Munsey with the Montcalm Volunteer Fire Department said that the West Virginia Fire Marshal was being contacted about investigating the blaze.

Explosions could be heard Thursday as the fire quickly spread to more than 100 junk vehicles while firefighters labored to get it contained. Munsey said there were no injuries.

"We all made it out, thank God," he said Friday. He was asked if any of the nearby homes and other structures had been burned or damaged.

"No sir," Munsey said. "We kept it away from all the structures."

Counting the brushfire and the salvage yard together, about 50 acres or more were burned, he estimated.

Firefighters remained on Browning Lambert Mountain until about 1:30 a.m. Friday. Some pieces of equipment were destroyed by the fire.

"We lost about 25 sections of firehose in it," Munsey recalled. "At one time it had overcome us. We had to leave our truck sitting there and everything. The truck was not damaged at all."

One challenge the firefighters had to deal with was the lack of fire hydrants.

"There is no water at all on that mountain," Munsey said. "That's what hindered the extinguishing of the fire. We had to shuttle water from downtown (Montcalm), which is approximately 2 miles away. We kept running out of water for a long time until we finally got caught up."

The smoke was thick, so Fayette County Emergency Response sent a portable cascade system which is used for filling firefighters' air bottles, Munsey said. Columns of smoke rose and kept much of it off the firefighters, but there were concerns that the smoke could stay closer to the ground when nightfall came and humidity levels fell. Fortunately, the firefighters did not have to use it, and the fire was about 70 percent controlled by sunset.

"And honestly, we pulled up most of our guys after dark to keep them from having injuries on scene," he added.

Munsey said his department appreciated the support from all the other firefighters and the neighborhood. The Red Cross brought water and food to the firefighters.

"And the community was overwhelming with support for water and food," he added. "They brought up plenty and we didn't go without."

For many of the firefighters battling the salvage yard fire, its magnitude was a new experience.

"I'm 42 years in this department and that is the biggest fire I had ever worked on," Munsey said.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com