By John LarsonMAGDALENA - The northernmost area of Magdalena was shrouded in a thick haze Wednesday morning as a result of burning furniture and boxes of miscellaneous goods in a warehouse owned by businessman Nick Innerbichler.
The building, next door to the Fire Department in a back lot, was used for storage, including Ashley furniture for NDN Furniture at 703 First Street, also owned by Innerbichler.
According to Marshal Larry Cearley the fire was reported at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, July 14.
Firefighting crews from the fire departments of Hop Canyon and San Antonio assisted the Magdalena Volunteer Fire Department.
Innerbichler’s loss comes on the heels of another fire at 102 North Oak St. two months ago that destroyed a house he used for offices and storage space . Destroyed in that fire on May 10 were suits valued at $10,000, Navajo rugs valued at $12,000, weapons, and Indian jewelry, according to Innerbichler.
Total losses in the latest fire are unknown as of press time Wednesday.
Cearley said the fire was initially reported to Deputy Terry Flanagan by a neighbor at about 2 a.m.
“Terry contacted the volunteer fire department, and also the Hop Canyon Fire Department,” he said. ‘We blocked of Highway 60 at Oak Street to run hoses from the hydrant on that corner.”
In addition to furniture, a variety of miscellaneous items were stored in the building, including blankets, and a forklift.
“It has a large basement, running the length of the building, that is the biggest problem [with putting the fire out],” Cearley said. “They used both foam and water, but only 2,000 gallons of water. The plan is to let the basement burn out, and then cover the basement with foam.”
Volunteer firefighter Justin Cearley was Incident Commander.
Also on the scene early Wednesday were investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s office.
“Right now it is under investigation by the Fire Marshal as a possible arson, at least there is no evidence of it being started by any natural cause,” Cearley said. “We do know it was started outside in the area of the northeast door.”
Cearley said Innerbichler was interviewed but not would release details of that interview. “He is working now with the Fire Marshal,” he said.
Responding from Socorro County Fire and Emergency Management was County Fire Marshal Fred Hollis, Mark Mercer, and Jerry Wheeler.
Wheeler said the county brought 30 buckets of foam, which they started using at 8 a.m.
“The fire was contained in the structure by noon,” Wheeler said. “Most of the firefighting was an exterior attack because of the intense blaze in the interior. We went into the structure twice, but had to back out because of the instability of the roof and floor.”
He said the fire had gotten into the basement which weakened the floor “really bad.”
“We had a total of 20 people working the fire altogether, from Hop Canyon, San Antonio, and the Fire Marshal’s office,” Wheeler said. “We also had assistance from Steve Bailey of Magdalena’s public utilities, and we appreciate that, but really what we need is more volunteers … for all fire departments in the county.”
About five hours before the warehouse fire, firefighters responded to another, smaller, fire down the street in the area of the Socorro Electric Co-op property. “That fire was reported at about 9:20 p.m. and it took two hours to put it out,” Cearley said. “It was confined to a pile of boards near the transformer station and fuel tanks.”
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