Continuing coverage Middletown fire
MIDDLETOWN — The cause of the fire that broke out at a Tytus Avenue factory last week is still unknown, but fire officials estimate the building and its contents sustained $2.5 million in damages and losses.
The smell of smoke still lingers at Midwest Switchgear after fire ripped through the facility at 4014 Tytus Ave. on March 28.
Middletown Fire Marshal Bob Hess estimates the fire destroyed about $1 million worth of the building’s contents and caused about $1.5 million in damages to the building.
An exact cause won’t likely be known until the roof of the building can be torn off, which won’t happen until Thursday, he said.
“We’ve got to get the roof off the big building,” Hess said. “I’m 90 percent certain it started under the roof.”
The company manufactures and repairs circuit breakers and switchgear, and offers 24-hour maintenance. The factory’s campus had three parts, a main office with a manufacturing facility in the rear, a smaller storage building and a breezeway that connected the two.
The fire destroyed the breezeway and caused structural damage to the office and warehouse building, Hess said. Smoke damage runs throughout the building, he said.
The fire destroyed most of the company’s equipment, including sand blasters, solvent cleaners and a paint booth, said Jim Caplinger, one of the three company owners. Important documents and computer servers are intact, he said Tuesday.
The company, which has 35 employees, has temporarily set up shop off Ohio 63 near Salzman Road in Monroe. But Caplinger said they had planned to expand and want to stay in Middletown.
“This will facilitate that (decision) a little more quickly,” he said. “I’m loyal to the city of Middletown and I’d like to have my permanent home be in Middletown.”
Caplinger said a settlement from the company’s insurance adjustor could be reached in about two weeks.
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