Fire extinguished at BH Plumbing

Walter Sprague
Art and Culture Reporter
 
At 4:25 p.m. on Saturday, the Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call. Black Hills Plumbing, at 1122 S. Summit Ave., was burning. 
The fire was contained within an hour and a half, according to Fire Chief Robert Munger. With three fire trucks, one support vehicle and 23 firefighters responding to the blaze, all hot spots were contained and extinguished. Nobody got hurt in the fire, including the firefighters.
The Newcastle Police Department had the road closed from U.S. Highway 85 to the intersection at U.S. Highway 16. However, because the fire was so quickly extinguished and the street cleanup was completed promptly, the closure only lasted for a few hours.
Some residences were affected by the fire. The dwellers of the attached home were evacuated. They were Wolfgang and Stacey VanHelsing and Kelly Berry. Vinka Azich, the owner of the Hilltop Hotel across the street, offered them rooms and meals for as long as needed.
“The homes were released by the next morning, and the people were able to go home,” Munger said, “That was so kind of Vinka to do this for them. She’s really a nice lady.” The fire did not spread to those residences, Munger said, but firefighters had to evacuate the occupants to make sure everything was safe, while the investigation into the fire was conducted.
Munger said that while the overall structure of the business was intact, there was some damage. Most of the loss was inventory, he said. No immediate value was placed on the loss. Nor was a cause cited by Munger. 
John Crabtree, an employee of Black Hills Plumbing, said it would be a few days before they know the extent of the damage and whether or not the business will be able to re-open at that location.
“It all depends on the insurance company,” Crabtree said, “But we are still open for business, just at a temporary new location.” 
Crabtree said that people can still get all their plumbing and air-conditioning needs met because the fire did not shut the business down. The number for Black Hills Plumbing is (307) 746-4502.