Fire Breaks out at WFMJ Studio

[yfdgricker]

Fire Breaks out at WFMJ Studio
From the WFMJ TV21 Web Site on 10/31/2007.

An early morning basement fire broke out in the WFMJ building. Nobody was hurt, but the fire damaged a number of systems used in their news and programming operations.

[daysleeper47]

Morning Fire Hits WFMJ Channel 21     
Wednesday, October 31 2007 @ 10:02 PM GMT+4
From the Business Journal

By George Nelson
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – An investigator continues to look into the cause of a fire early this morning at the downtown building that houses the studios and offices of WFMJ-TV.

The Youngstown Fire Department received an alarm drop from a security company and a 911 call from a WFMJ producer at 4:15 a.m., said Battalion Chief Robert Hian. Initially responding with one fire truck, the department eventually had 25 firefighters and nine vehicles, including a ladder truck and battalion chief’s car, on the scene.

Firefighters had extinguished the blaze by 4:22 a.m., except for isolated hot spots, “so it really didn’t take long to knock it down,” Hian said. They cleared the building by 7:22 a.m. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters confined the fire to a records storage room in the basement, although the heat damaged communications wiring. Damage loss will be “high,” Hian predicted, but is undetermined for now. An arson investigator was on the scene trying to determine the cause of the blaze. That is standard procedure, he said, and arson is not suspected at this time.

The fire knocked WFMJ off the air for a short time this morning.

"Thankfully there wasn't more damage," says John Grdic, station manager. "I can't say enough for the Youngstown Fire Department."

The 8-inch thick concrete ceiling prevented the fire from spreading beyond the basement, he says. Still, it consumed overhead electrical and phone lines, giving off the smell of burning plastic that permeated the building.

It's too soon to estimate monetary damages, he says. Telephone and electrical installers spent most of the day replacing the burnt wiring.

As for the records lost in the fire, Grdic says seven boxes of old programming records were destroyed -- "really nothing that we have to worry about."

[yfdgricker]

Fire At WFMJ Ruled Arson
Story from the WFMJ TV21 Web Site on 12/14/2007.

After six weeks of investigating, fire officials rule arson in the WFMJ fire on Halloween morning.  The blaze, which began in the basement, sent smoke throughout the three story building.  No one was hurt.  Arson investigators continue to look for the person or persons responsible.