Woodpile fire forces boil order in Moline

By Times staff | Thursday, May 24, 2007

TODAY: (Updated 11:19 a.m.) Massive amounts of water used to douse a smoldering woodpile fire in Moline on Wednesday reduced water pressure in parts of the city’s northeast, requiring boil orders.

The city issued an order for the area between the Mississippi River and 12th Avenue and east of 48th Street to the East Moline border. Residents in this area are advised to boil water for at least five minutes prior to drinking or cooking with it.

The boil order will remain in effect at least 24 hours and until further notice.

The city's water plant manager Greg Swanson said he is hopeful the boil order will be lifted Friday morning.





EARLIER STORY

Fire in woodpile blamed on downed power lines

By Thomas Geyer

Moline firefighters spent most of the day Wednesday extinguishing a fire in a huge pile of old and rotten wood located behind the Strombeck-Becker Manufacturing Co. at 4th Avenue and 52nd Street.

While the fire was brought under control fairly quickly, firefighters spent most of the afternoon and evening hours at the scene pouring water on hot spots and saturating the pile so that it would not flare up again. The pile is estimated to be 15-20 feet deep.

Firefighters were called to the scene at 11:32 a.m. regarding downed power lines, said Moline Fire Department Battalion Chief Todd Allen.

“The first company that arrived on the scene reported downed lines on the east side of the woodpile,” he said. “There were three small fires going but we couldn’t get to them because the power lines were arching.”

By the time MidAmerican Energy Co. personnel got the power to the lines cut about a half-hour later, the strong wind had whipped up the fires, spreading them along the dried wood that is made up of old utility poles and large trees and limbs.

MidAmerican spokesman Allan Urlis said that the lines were brought down by tree limbs felled by the wind.

And it was the wind that made the blaze tough to fight, Allen said, adding that the water used to fight the blaze reduced pressure to area homes and businesses.

Firefighters from the Quad-City International Airport near Moline responded with foam to help combat the blaze, he said.

The woodpile is 15-20 feet deep and has been there for several years, Allen said.

“There were no hazards to life but there obviously was some concern about some area businesses and buildings catching fire,” he added.

An excavator was brought in to overturn the big pieces of wood so firefighters could saturate the pile with water.

Paul Fritch, the manager of the old Strombeck-Becker Manufacturing Building, said that a contract to get rid of the wood was signed Wednesday.

“The owner is in California,” he said. “Maybe they were going to sell the wood as firewood or mulch. I don’t know how the fire will affect the contract.”

Fritch said that he is trying to find uses for the old Strombeck-Becker building, and that there is space “for rent for cheap.”

Strombeck-Becker manufactured custom wood products, including many toys. The land where the building now sits was purchased in 1917, and the building was erected and occupied in 1918, according to a history of the company. The company was sold Feb. 28, 1980, to Chicago Cutlery of Minneapolis.

Urlis said that the fire affected 2,500 customers in Moline and East Moline. All but about 60 customers had power back at 2:06 p.m. The rest were on line by 4:48 p.m.

There were two other power outages Wednesday in Illinois, he said.

The first was in Moline at 9:24 a.m. that affected 903 customers. He said a tree branch fell and took down a power line at 53rd Street between 6th and 7th avenues. All customers had power back by 2:03 p.m.

Another outage occurred in Rock Island when a tree fell on power lines and snapped a utility pole in the 3100 block of 17th Street, Urlis said. That occurred at 11:01 a.m. and affected 96 customers. All customers affected by that outage had power back by 4:26 p.m.

“This is a good time to remind people that when power lines are down do not go near them,” Urlis said.

While the wind was gusty Wednesday, it was not that strong, Urlis said.

The tree limbs that broke had been weakened by other storms, including the ice storm in February, he added. But those weakened limbs and branches had deteriorated enough by this time that a moderately strong wind would bring them down.

Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at www.qctimes.com.