Demolition begins at site of five-alarm fire in Springfield

Crews have begun demolishing a downtown Springfield warehouse struck by a massive fire in January, believed to be the largest fire in a decade.

Tony Smith Wrecking Co. is completing an $80,000 demolition on the Tri-State Pallet warehouse that will take about two weeks to complete, including clean up, Tony Smith said.

The city of Springfield was concerned with the safety of the building, but didnt order it torn down, according to the Springfield Fire/Rescue Division.

Demolition was the only alternative, building owner Tom Lagos said.

It was totally destroyed by the fire and to keep it safe for Springfield, youve got to tear it down, Lagos said.

The only building in the warehouse complex that will be razed is the one that burned, he said, and the rest of it will remain.

The fire got so hot, many of the steel beams in the building bent, Smith said. The intense flames also blistered the ceiling concrete and turned it into practically nothing, he said.

Whenever (fire) cooks the roof off of something, you know it got hot, Smith said.

There are currently no plans for the site, Lagos said, but its being demolished in a way that it can be used for a future building site.

To the best of my knowledge, there was nothing in the building that could be salvaged, Lagos said.

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Demolition begins at site of five-alarm fire in Springfield