Pictures (c) Kevin Dayhoff and Westminster Fire Department
Two alarm fire at
Wednesday evening, June 28th, 2006
Len Stoler Auto Dealership,
For additional information contact:
Incident Commander: Westminster Fire Department Lieutenant
Bill Brehm; or Public Information Officer:
_________________
According to Westminster Fire Department (WFD) public information officer (PIO),) Kevin Utz, the first call went out at 8:51 PM. Within a minute of Westminster Fire Department engine 32 arriving on the scene at 8:56 PM, Westminster Fire Department Lieutenant Bill Brehm, the incident commander, called in a second alarm.
Among the seventy public safety personnel who responded, twenty-five firefighters from
Several teams of firefighters were necessary to fight the fire from the inside of the building, the back of the building, from the roof and the showroom approach. One team was assigned to maintain water supply. Additionally, safety,
Except for a minor case of heat exhaustion and a few scrapes, no firefighters were seriously injured. One person was treated on the scene for unknown injuries, immediately upon the arrival of the first responders to the incident. It was not known as to whether the person injured on the scene, was an employee of auto dealership.
As the evening wore on, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, police officers from thirteen agencies responded. Seven fire companies, including Westminster - Engines 32 and 33, Tower 3, Utility 3, Special Unity 3, Medic Units 39 and 37, and Brush 35; Pleasant Valley – Engines 61 and 63, Squad 6; Reese – Engines 91, 92 and 95, Medic 99, and Rescue 9, New Windsor – Engine 102 and Rescue Engine 101, Lineboro Air Unit 7; Mount Airy Duty 1 (Incident Safety Officer,) and Hampstead Truck 2; all sent a total of twenty-one fire fighting apparatuses to the fire.
Also responding was Maryland State Police, Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputies and Westminster Police Department officers. Traffic at on
The WFD “Canteen Unit” provided bottled water and Gatorade to help relieve firefighters throughout the warm and humid evening.
Baltimore Gas and Electric, the Maryland Department of the Environment Hazmat Response Team and the Maryland State Fire Marshall’s Office also were on location.
According WFD Lt. Brehm, “the incident is under investigation by the Maryland State Fire Marshall’s office.” The fire was under control within twenty minutes, said, Lt. Brehm. However, firefighters remained on the scene until midnight looking for extensions of the fire, smoke removal, safety review and clean-up – or what Lt. Brehm referred to as “extensive overhaul.”
About seventy-five bystanders gathered on the parking lot of the Seven-Eleven as the evening progressed.
Neither WFD Lt. Brehm or PIO Utz were able to place a figure on the amount of the property damage.
Soon after the fire erupted, employees and officials from the Len Stoler organization convened on the scene. Barry Stoler, vice-president of Len Stoler, was quick to praise the
Mr. Stoler said that there was “no way to calculate the amount of the damage at this point in time,” as he was interviewed towards the end of the evening.
The Len Stoler organization purchased the dealership in 1997 said Dave Leibowitz, the Chief Financial Officer for the company. Operations manager Denver Huffman said that the dealership employs 65 at the
Mr. Stoler remarked that (as a result of the quick actions by the firefighters) he “expected a minimum disruption to our operation” and “we’ll be open at 7 AM the next morning. Clean up crews and estimators will be on the site at 5 AM,” to get the business re-opened.
Mr. Stoler was also quick to praise his
As the firefighters were packing up fire hoses and equipment, Mr. Stoler was overheard to say that the response, efficiency and caring attitude of Carroll Countians is why his company has looked forward to expanding the dealership and bringing more business to
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