A fire at Quaker City Castings on Euclid Street burned through the roof of the building in several places Tuesday night. The fire also burned nearby utility poles outside the building, prompting Ohio Edison to shut off electricity on the southern side of the city until the fire could be extinguished. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)

SALEM — A late night fire at Quaker City Castings led to sections of the city having power shut off Tuesday.

The fire department was notified of the fire at approximately 9:37 p.m., with firefighters arriving on scene at approximately 9:42 p.m. Capt. Shawn Mesler said that when they arrived at the property on Euclid Street, heavy fire was visible from the building’s exterior.

“We got there, and the fire was clear through the roof,” Mesler said.

While firefighters made an initial attack on the fire, dispatch notified automatic aid, with the Perry Township, Green Township, Winona, Damascus and Sebring fire departments responding.

Mesler said that firefighters knew from experience with previous fires in the area the water infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of the property was older and could not supply the volume of water the department needed to extinguish the fire, so a large line was also ran to South Ellsworth Avenue.

“Once that line was established, we had the water we needed, but it took time and a lot of manpower to get there,” Mesler said.

Mesler also said that before that line was in place, the full severity and scope of the fire was unclear, and the department requested that Sebring bring its ladder truck as a precaution to help ensure that the fire did not spread. However, that truck ultimately was not deployed in extinguishing the fire.

“Once we had run all the water lines we needed, we didn’t really have room to get any more trucks in. We were on five different hydrants,” Mesler said.

The department’s efforts were further complicated by the presence of burning utility poles and power lines, prompting Ohio Edison to shut off electricity in the southern portion of the city for a few hours. In a statement sent on the city’s TextMyGov text-line at 12:12 a.m. Wednesday, the city warned that the outage would also affect both residential properties and businesses, and that power would be restored once the fire was completely extinguished.

Despite the complications, the fire was contained to the building of origin, with personnel remaining on site to douse hot spots throughout the night. Mesler said that firefighters would also have to return to the property a few more times throughout the day Wednesday to check for any hot spots.

Nobody was inside of the building when the fire began and there were no injuries.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

Mesler said that the state fire marshal’s office had been notified of the fire, and that as of Wednesday morning had not notified the department if it would be responding to investigate the fire.

mahart@mojonews.com