Allison metal outbuilding destroyed in 3 1/2-hour fire

Tony Knoll had been prepping his snowmobiles for an upcoming trip recently.

However, the six machines stored in his repair shop in Allison were demolished Monday evening when his metal outbuilding went up in smoke.  

For over 3 ½ hours, smoke rushed out of the structure in blankets.

Firefighters from Clarksville and Allison Fire departments had to cut out sections of the building to contain the blaze from Knoll’s nearby house.

“The metal building was good and bad,” said Allison fire chief Brad Cooper. “You can’t attack it as well, buy it contains the fire. We try to save the property, but we’ve got to do it safe. And this kept the house from any heat, which we were able to watch pretty close.”

Butler County Emergency Management Coordinator Mitch Nordmeyer said it’s just one of those things where they were a victim of circumstance.

“It was the second fire in as many days [in the county],” he said. “It’s the worst time of year for this, but you hate to see them happen two weeks before Christmas.”

The fire squads arrived at the scene around 4:30 p.m., with six fire trucks. But, a northwest wind made the fire a bit harder to put out.

Read full story in the Dec. 11 Clarksville Star and Tribune-Journal.