Massive blaze destroys lumber business in Greene

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

The building that housed the lumber yard in downtown Greene had been standing for more than 130 years, according to Greene Fire Chief Neal Nordmeyer.

That building was destroyed early Monday morning when a raging fire turned much of the Green Lumber Co.’s property into smoke, ash and charred debris.

All that remains of the full-service lumber company are questions as to what the future holds for what had been a fixture in Greene for decades.

“It’s become a staple of the community. They’ve been there forever,” said Nordmeyer, who has been Greene fire chief for 11 years. “It’s a definitive loss for the community. We’re just hoping he comes back and builds it bigger and better.”

Nordmeyer said a local business owner in Greene noticed the building was burning and notified authorities.

“It was fully engulfed on our arrival. I have no idea how long it was going,” he said.

Seven different fire departments converged on the scene beginning around 3 a.m. to help put out the intense blaze. Nordmeyer said the departments working together were able to extinguish the fire in under two hours.

Three buildings on site, including the main shop, were leveled, and two other buildings on the property were damaged.

Nordmeyer said Landers Hardware Hank – a business just down from the lumber yard on East Traer Street – was smoking as a result of the heat caused by the fire. More damage to that building was averted after departments were able to stop the spread of the flames farther into the downtown area.

There was also a house in the area that saw its siding melt because of the extreme heat caused by the inferno.

“We needed a lot of manpower, extra trucks. Charles City brought their aerial down so we could get up above it and get some water on it,” said Nordmeyer. “It was an all-out response.”

Nordmeyer said he did not know what started the fire, but a state fire marshal will be in Greene to assess the damage. There were no reports of anyone injured because of the blaze.

“We couldn’t really tear into it like we wanted to because of the fire marshal coming. We didn’t want to destroy anything that he might be able to gain some knowledge from,” Nordmeyer said.

He said he was surprised that the firefighters were able to put out the fire in less than two hours, especially considering the amount of wood that the buildings held.

Nordmeyer said fighting the fire did become more difficult when the roof caved in. The tin roof collapsed into the heart of the fire and covered up everything underneath it.

“It’s been a long time,” said Nordmeyer when asked if this was the biggest fire he had encountered. “There was a lot of lumber inside of there.”

Departments that assisted in battling the blaze were from Greene, Marble Rock, Charles City, Floyd, Clarksville, Allison and Bristow.

The business is run by Brett and Emily Ascher, who have owned the lumber company for eight years.

“I don’t know if the owner’s made a decision on what he’s going to do. I think he’s waiting for insurance adjusters to look at it and the fire marshal to look at it before he makes any decision,” said Nordmeyer. “We’re just all hoping that he decides to rebuild and makes a go of it again.”