Third Mount Vernon Structure Fire in Five Days

November 29, 2019

MOUNT VERNON— At approximately 12:00pm today, the Mount Vernon Fire Department responded to a commercial structure fire at 117 E Fir Street. The first arriving Mount Vernon fire crews reported a working fire from the crawl space of the large, vacant commercial building.

The fast-acting crews were able to gain access into the crawl space and extinguish the fire before the blaze could extend further into the building.  It appeared that the crawl space was being used by transients.

“We are lucky that no one was injured or killed,” said Fire Chief Bryan Brice.  “This is the third fire within a week. With the colder weather there comes an increased number of emergency calls and we are stretched thin with our resources”.

The Burlington Fire Department assisted while Fire District 2 and 3 responded to other emergencies within the City of Mount Vernon.

“We are fortunate to have great departments around us that provide aid when we need it,” Brice said. “But we can’t always rely on that because they have very busy departments too.”

The Fire Department wants to remind everyone that radiant heat, if too close to combustibles, can start a fire and portable propane heaters inside of buildings can be dangerous as they can produce carbon monoxide which is a deadly gas.  All heating appliances should be maintained and kept in good condition. Keep combustible materials at least 3 feet from any heating device. All buildings with gas type heating or cooking appliances need to have a working carbon monoxide alarm.