Fire Burns at Site of Water, Wind & Soil

Firefighters are still on scene of a fire that started last Thursday, Jan. 6 on Georgia Pacific Road, as hay continues to burn.

When firefighters arrived last Thursday, shortly before 1 p.m., there was so much smoke and so much heat, the firefighters couldn’t even tell what was on fire. They thought it was one building, but it turns out it was two buildings, said Chris Finch Fire/EMS Director.

In addition to those two buildings being a total loss, several pieces of equipment burned up including a new crane that was valued at $1.2 million. Two other lifts/forklifts on scene also burnt up. There were also two pieces of Hertz rental equipment that burned down.

Mr. Finch said that there was a company out of Dublin, who had been hired by Water, Wind & Soil that was taking down converters and pipe. They were doing “hot” work over the hay. Apparently they left for lunch, then returned an discovered the fire. They then attempted to extinguish the blaze themselves before calling 911.

The initial response included numerous firefighters and apparatus to try to keep the fire under control. They quickly set up a defensive attack, trying to protect surrounding structures, as the two buildings were already lost.

According to David Dyer, with the Development Authority of Jasper County, WWS manufactures erosion control products for the national market. The site encompasses 69 acres and several industrial buildings for a total of 514,000 square feet under roof.

WWS acquired the site in August of 2020 and immediately began remediation of the plant buildings and surrounding acreage. Along with WWS, two additional companies occupy space at the site.

The two buildings affected by the fire were storage buildings in partial use by WWS. No WWS production buildings were damaged. No buildings used by Columbia Panel Board were damaged. No buildings that will be used by Profile Products were damaged. There are no reported injuries.

“I’m very thankful for the containment work of our volunteer firefighters,” said Mr. Dyer. “The firefighters area…a professional team providing great service to our community.”

The city of Monticello experienced a water main break Thursday afternoon, inhibiting the fire department getting the water pressure needed. Once that was fixed, the pressure was fine, and firefighters used an extensive amount on the fire.

Numerous firefighters fought the fire the first two-three days, and since then a presence has remained with at least one firefighter on scene at all times, as well as an engine and a tanker.

Mr. Finch said the county has no avenue to recoup funds to pay the firefighters, many of whom will be looking at much overtime. Mr. Finch said typically volunteers are paid $15 per call that they respond to, but in the past when they had to work around the clock like this, they were paid hourly.