May 16, 1982

Blaze levels Greenwood building

       Greenwood and White River Township fireman fought a blaze that refused to die until it had totally destroyed a large, combination business/residential building in downtown Greenwood Sunday evening. The owners of the building, Delvin L. and Dorthea Middleton, also lived in a section of the building that housed Del’s T.V. Store, Knothole Plaster Crafts, and a warehouse. Although the building is just across the street from the Greenwood Volunteer Fire Department station on Madison Avenue, Assistant Fire Chief Mike Hughes said the fire had such a head start in the garage-sized warehouse at the rear of the building that fireman were unable to contain the fire when they first arrived shortly before 5 p.m. “It was already through the roof,” Hughes said. Middleton, a Greenwood volunteer fireman, discovered the flames rising out of the warehouse roof at the rear of the building when he returned home after running some errands. He called the Greenwood Fire Department. The White River Township Fire Department was called to assist immediately when fireman realized the blaze was spreading rapidly through the structure. Hughes said the fire spread unusually fast. Plastics in the plaster cast store may have helped to fuel the blaze, he said. Several hundred spectators gathered in the area and watched as the fireman, equipped with oxygen tanks, and masks, time after time entered the building with water hoses and axes only to be forced out when the smoke and flames became to much to take. Greenwood volunteer firefighters fought the blaze from the front of the building, with the help of an 85-foot-high boom, while White River Township firefighters tried to put out the flames in the warehouse at the rear of the building and from the south side. Police blocked of Madison Avenue from Main Street to the Smith Valley Road By-Pass to keep the road clear for the fire trucks and ambulances. The flames were brought under control after two hours by the 35 firefighters on the scene. Five Greenwood firemen were taken to the Emergency Medical Physicians Immediate Care Center in Greenwood to receive tetanus shots for nail puncture wounds. Another Greenwood fireman, Larry Thompson, was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove to have glass removed from his chin and jaw, Hughes said. It is believed a television tube explosion sent the glass into his skin. Several other firemen were treated on the scene for smoke inhalation. None was hospitalized. Included in the losses were several Greenwood Volunteer Fire Department sirens and miscellaneous items that Middleton was repairing. The cause of the fire has not been determined, Hughes said. The State Fire Marshal is investigating along with the Greenwood Fire Detective, Hughes said. Damage estimates have been in the $100,000 range.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

 
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