Downtown building burns: Downtown building destroyed by fire, ruining more than $1 million in property
February 18, 2012 at 12:54 am in The Jamestown Sun
The smoke could be seen from 30 miles away when a northwest Jamestown building used for storage burned Friday.
Continue Reading

It sure seems dangerous that anyone would be allowed to store that amount of oil WITH tires in town. That’s something I think our city council needs to look into further.
I wonder how long it’ll take them to clean that mess up?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
37
8
are there no ordinances determining what things are stored in buildings downtown, near residentials etc? This could have been a much bigger disaster.Luckily no one was hurt or injured…
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
33
5
Well I like to look for the silver lining in this story, 1. The local firefighters got a lot of experience from the fire, this was no drill and now they are even better prepared for future fires. 2. No one was hurt. 3. In all honesty, that building was a huge eyesore, I am glad it will be gone, and maybe if we are lucky they will tear down the old Elks building as well, since no one was ever going to actually buy it anyway, now this leaves a new open lot located right on main street for something more useful. 4. As for the owner of the building? This couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. I would like to thank Mr. Brad Vining for endangering the lives of those living near this building filled with oil and tires, and his business a block away that houses excessive amounts of gasoline and other flammable goods. I’m sure there would be no way the fire could have ever spread one block to those tankers of explosives. And if it had, its not like there are many houses and apartments filled with people surrounding the area that could have been harmed. (In case you can’t tell I am being sarcastic) I am sure Mr. Vining will recoup the lost money by raising gas prices even higher then they already are, keeping in mind they are already some of the highest in the state anyway.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
43
10
Lance, I agree with you about Vining and that they will recoup their losses, but I do not believe it will be through gas price hikes. I believe it will be through questionable insurance claims. The people in that area should have been privy to knowing what was in that building. We make truck drivers label their cargo when it is hazardous, but this building had absolutely no markings on it. How dangerous was that for the firefighters? There should have been signs on the building to alert them. What if one of them had become injured because of an exploding oil drum? What would their family have been told? “Oh, ma’am, I’m sorry, the oil I was storing IN TOWN severly injured/killed your husband. BUY VINING OIL!”
The mayor is as much to blame as anyone. Where is the enforcement here?
Hot debate. What do you think?
24
11
Is it the mayor’s job to enforce the laws and ordinances of Jamestown? I thought the mayor of Jamestown was a political position.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
21
1
I think Vining is a millionaire already with what he charges for gas in this town already. Now he endangers the good people that he makes his money off of. Brilliant Vining.
Like or Dislike:
13
3
I think what would look good in that empty lot would be another flower garden!!! NOT !!!! The old one looks like a burial ground for crying out loud. The flower patches are in the shapes of caskets. Lets do something useful with this area.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
27
8
Are you willing to buy it with your money? Then you can do whatever you want, like the last people did. It’s not public property. Neither was the Orlady site.
Hot debate. What do you think?
18
14