A fire broke out on the third floor of Winter Furniture this morning, but was contained and extinguished in less than an hour.
Thick dark smoke poured out of the southeast windows as firefighters brought the fire under control.
Store owner Dick Winter said there wasn’t much in that part of the building other than some exercise equipment. A malfunctioning window fan may have started the fire, he said.
“That’s an old fan, so I imagine the motor stopped and it kept trying to start,” Winter said. “That’s got to be what caused it. It was old — framed in metal, too, so it must have got awful hot to cause a fire.”
Fire Chief Jack Taylor said the fire damage seemed to be limited to that part of the third floor, although he wasn’t sure how extensive the smoke damage would be. Behind him, ventilators could be heard clearing the smoke out of the building.
The firefighters already had been at another call at Emporia State University’s Science Hall when the report of the Winter Furniture fire came in around 6:30 a.m.
A project dryer in the Science Hall, used to dry out items such as leaves, started the ESU fire but according to one firefighter, no serious damage resulted. A firefighter was able to carry out the burning material in a trash can.
Winter said this was the first fire the furniture store has ever had. Both he and the firefighters were grateful that it could be contained before it spread to the rest of the store and its inventory.
“If it would have gotten into the floor, it could have gone everywhere,” Winter said. “The floors are solid wood, too.”
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