CBS 19 - The Eye of East Texas News - Update: Massive fire burns Jacksonville warehouse to the ground

Update: Massive fire burns Jacksonville warehouse to the ground

by Michele Reese

JACKSONVILLE, TX (KYTX) – Suspicious - that's how Jacksonville Fire investigators are describing a large warehouse fire that broke out this morning at the old Trinity Furniture Manufacturing Plant. That's in the 900 block of North Jackson. CBS 19's Michele Reese was on the scene as fire crews tackled the blaze. 

It took firefighters a while to get the blaze under control, because when firefighters arrived the flames were 75 feet high. Most people in the city could see the large black cloud coming from what is now the Grimes Water Works Building. The fire is still smoldering, even as investigators try to figure out how it started.

"An employee of mine and myself actually were coming through there headed toward Henderson when we saw the black smoke." Sammy Grimes didn't know that large cloud of smoke was coming from his warehouse in Jacksonville.

"My brother called shortly after and I thought he was kidding and he said, is your insurance paid up, and I kidded back yes, it's fine. But [I said] I don't think that involves me, and he said I'm not kidding...it does," said Grimes.

It was Grimes' 80,000 square feet building that somehow managed to catch fire.

Volunteer firefighters from Earle's Chapel, and New Summerfield assisted the Jacksonville Fire Department with putting out the flames.

"We did hear a few things exploding. I'm not sure if it was propane tanks or paint."
 
Jacksonville Fire Chief Paul White believes the fire started on the west side of the building. How it started, he says, is suspicious.

"There's no power to the building, no gas to the building. I don't know of any accidental way it could have started," said Chief White.

The owner, Mr. Grimes, said he was concerned something like this could happen here. He says on several occasions he found evidence of vagrants using this space.

Grimes was planning to use the space for his company, Grimes Water Works.  "We had bought it - basically, it was a good deal, bankruptcy situation and bought it to warehouse our construction company," said Grimes.

That project is on hold while investigators try and piece together what caused this historic Jacksonville building to burn to the ground. 

Ironically, the first person to spot the fire, and call it in, was Fire Chief Paul White. He was on his way to a wreck around ten this morning, when he noticed the smoke and flames.

The building's owner says he can't estimate the damage right now, but the building is a total loss.

Click here to see a photo gallery of images from the scene of the fire from the Tyler Morning Telegraph.