A fire early Tuesday, Feb. 18, damaged the garage portion of the R.D. Holder Oil Company facility at 706 W. Sandusky Ave., Bellefontaine.
Bellefontaine fire personnel responded about 5:46 a.m. on a report from a city police officer getting fuel at the location of an orange glow coming from inside the garage area.
Upon arrival, firefighters found a tanker truck inside the garage fully engulfed.They entered the garage through a window and cut away part of the garage door to quickly extinguish the blaze before fuel inside the tanker could ignite.
An R.D. Holder employee was in another part of the building when the fire started. No injuries were reported.
A camper parked in the garage area sustained possible smoke and heat damage as did other portions of the building.
Damage estimates were not immediately available.
Fire personnel remained on scene until about 8 a.m.
Owner Bob Holder was accessing damage to his building Tuesday morning and praised the quick action of first responders who kept the fire and damage from being much worse.
It is not Mr. Holder’s first experience with a business fire. In 2012, the company’s Springfield location was destroyed by fire, which necessitated that the firm’s entire office staff move to Bellefontaine for a time.
Holder, who has been in the fuel delivery and equipment business since 1986, said the diesel and gas fuel pumps are open for business at the West Sandusky Avenue location. The company also has a spare tanker truck, so fuel deliveries will be able to be made without disruption.
All phone calls for the Bellefontaine location are routed through the company’s New Carlisle office. Anyone wishing to contact the local office via phone will be able to do so.
