Fire Rages In Rockford

Two buildings a total loss in early morning blaze

ROCKFORD - An auto repair shop and defunct bar and grill were gutted by a fire that broke out early Wednesday morning.

Dozens of firefighters from 12 departments in two counties battled the blaze for 10 hours and at one point exhausted the town's water supply and had to draw from the St. Marys River and a nearby creek.

No one was injured in the inferno but two buildings housing DJ's Auto Repair and Wildfire Bar and Grill on North Main Street were decimated by flames, said Rockford Fire Chief Rob Belna.

Belna said it's the worst fire Rockford's seen in 40 to 50 years. The fire started in Wildfire Bar and Grill but its cause is unknown. It's under investigation by the state fire marshal, Belna said.

Fire spotted by passerby

Belna said a passerby on the way home from work called in the fire at 1:45 a.m. Firefighters raced to the scene.

"The top of the Wildfire Bar and Grill was fully engulfed in fire," he said.

Belna said scores of firefighters from Rockford, Celina, Ohio City, Mendon, Van Wert City, Wren, Willshire, Chattanooga, Coldwater, St. Henry, Montezuma and Chickasaw showed up to extinguish the flames.

"We really didn't send anybody in because the extent of the fire in that building was tremendous, and we're not going to risk any of our guys to go in a building that's not safe," Belna said.

Firefighters could be seen dousing the flames from atop ladders of fire trucks positioned nearby.

Village administrator Aaron Temple said the village had 350,000 gallons of total water storage which was spent in a few hours.

"We never went below 30 pounds of pressure on the system, so that's why we didn't have to do a boil advisory," he said. "The fire department shut the hydrants down, they disconnected from our system and then they started pulling water from the river."

Belna noted that each fire department came bearing a tanker.

"We depleted the water supply in town in the towers so we had to shuttle water from the river and the creek east of town so that's why we had so many tankers," he explained. "We did pretty good. We had enough tankers that we were able to shuttle and the guys on the bridge did an excellent job of filling them and filling them quick."

Belna said Rockford firefighters remained on site until 5 p.m.

Resident Madison Lovett heard the commotion from Second Street, a few blocks away from the fire.

"I woke up and there was no electricity, no water and there was a bang. I was like, 'Huh, what's going on outside?'" she said.

Historic buildings go up in flames

Temple said it looks like the whole northeast corner of the Main street block is demolished.

DJ's Auto Repair at 141 N. Main St. and Wildfire Bar and Grill at 157 N. Main St. were reduced to rubble. The adjacent Holeshot Accessories also incurred smoke and fire damage but remained intact, according to Belna.

"It's heartbreaking to know that some of these guys have put their whole life into these businesses and to watch it just go up in flames in a matter of minutes," Temple said.

Mercer County online documents show the property at 157 N. Main St. is owned by Kevin Hague. Messages left for Hague went unreturned by press time.

The bar and grill was no longer operating and was up for sale, according to Rockford Mayor Amy Joseph.

Douglas Hole has owned the auto repair business and property at 141 N. Main Street for about 25 years, he told the newspaper. By the time he got to the shop at about 3 a.m., the building was blanketed in flames.

"Complete loss," he said.

Hole said inside the shop were vehicles he and his four employees were working on.

"It basically took everything," he said of the fire.

He also noted he lost five of his own restored classic cars valued at about $750,000 in a storage building damaged in the fire.

Hole's not sure what his next step will be.

"I don't know yet. It's day by day here. Let's see what happens with insurance and all that stuff and we'll go from there," he said.

Both buildings were over 100 years old, Temple said.

"Hopefully both these business owners can rebuild or sell the properties or businesses to someone who will rebuild and put another business in Rockford. You hate to lose a business, especially in this manner," he said.

Jospeh said she was grateful no one was injured in Wednesday's fire but mourned the loss of the two historic buildings that helped give the downtown its character.

"It's a devastating loss for sure. They're historic buildings and the DJ's Auto Repair services … everybody took their cars there. There's so many memories there. It's a really big staple in our community, and I think we all share in (Hole's) pain and his grief. He lost quite a bit."

Lovett echoed those sentiments, saying her family brought their vehicles to the repair shop regularly.

"We get all our cars fixed there," she said. "My mom gets her van. My dad gets his truck. I get my Pontiac … I hope they get it back up and running. I'm worried about the people who own it. They were a good company."

The other building was also a downtown fixture having operated as a restaurant and bar under numerous names, Joseph added.

Resident Zach Galoviz recalled fond memories of one of the previous establishments.

"I loved Frankie Jo's," Galoviz said. "It was my favorite place to go to every week."

Wednesday's fire amounted to "a pretty big hit," especially in light of efforts to grow the community through new infrastructure, housing and other amenities, Jospeh said.

But Joseph said she's confident the buildings will eventually be replaced and the downtown will persevere.

Town shows true colors

Hole, Temple and Joseph applauded the way in which the town's people rallied to support the business owners, firefighters and other emergency providers on Wednesday.

"Everybody has pulled together so far and I think the community is going to stick together and help these guys get cleaned up and see what happens next," Jospeh said.

Hole was amazed at the number of firefighters and vehicles that came to the aid of the Rockford Fire Department and how people "opened their doors" for others in need. The local carryout and gas stations provided food and water for many, he said.

"Oh, it was great, everybody pulled together," Hole said. "There were probably 175 people and they were all volunteers."

Temple agreed.

"It was kind of hectic but it was nice to see 12 area departments show up to help us today," Temple said.

"That was great to see. That's kind of why we all still live in these small communities. When something like this happens, everybody gets together and takes care of the issue," Temple said.

Joseph said seeing everyone join together brought tears to her eyes.

"Second Crossing (Brew Co.) was open for people to come in and out of to get their food, drinks, for residents to sit and support the business owners. Other businesses helped feed the firefighters," Joseph said.

Luke Stephenson, one of the owners of Second Crossing Brew Co. and a village counciler, opened his brewery for local businesses that wanted to feed firefighters.

The brewery was transformed into a firefighter break room with coffee, donuts and other food, he said. The school, which was on a two-hour delay Wednesday because of the fire, sent tacos courtesy of its kitchen.

Stephenson said the only positive of the day was the community response.

"There were a dozen fire departments from both counties, really. Mostly all volunteer departments except for Celina and Van Wert," he said. "For them to show up and spend all day here fighting side by side with our guys trying to save as much property as they could, it makes you feel good about small communities working together."