Shelby building catches fire, smoke billows in downtown
By David Jacobs
Smoke filled the downtown Shelby sky on Wednesday afternoon as crews responded to a building fire along East Main Street not far from the railroad tracks.
No injuries are reported.
Shelby Fire was called to 54 E. Main St. at 2:38 p.m.
"Shelby fire attempted to make several interior attacks with little progress," Shelby Fire Chief Mike Thompson said in a statement Wednesday night.
"The decision was made to fight the fire from the exterior due to unsafe interior conditions," he said. "Ultimately a backhoe was used to tear down most of the structure to help extinguish fire in multiple hidden voids."
The structure was unoccupied and was used for the storage of construction materials, Thompson said. A newly remodeled apartment was upstairs and an event room was downstairs, he said.
The fire department was told that an electric heater had been started 30 minutes before the fire in an attempt to keep the pipes from freezing, Chief Thompson said.
Shelby firefighters were facing tough conditions with the temperature outside of 8 degrees and the wind chill at -9.
"Please keep all the firefighters and everyone trying to help in your thoughts and prayers," the Little Shops of Shelby said in a social media post as firefighters worked at the scene.
Chief Thompson described the weather conditions as "very harsh."
"Equipment freezing was an issue," he said.
On Wednesday evening once they had returned to their station, Shelby Firefighters Local 2492 expressed thanks for the community’s support.
"Madison, Springfield, Shiloh fire department, American Red Cross, 1800 Board Up, every business and community member who brought us food and drinks and donated the pizzas and wings we are so appreciative and grateful for this community," the local said via social media Wednesday evening. "Trucks are back in service drying and unthawing equipment. We are exhausted and cold!"
Video courtesy of Kayla Loveland
Preliminary reports identified the building as one that in the past housed the now-former Rack of Videos store.
The building, Shelby’s Connie Roub noted, was soon to have a new use as the Shelby HUB.
"I am heartbroken that the building where we had the holiday store is on fire," Roub said via social media. "The owners have put so much work into remodeling this to help the community.”
The HUB was designed to be a performance and event venue. "The Shelby HUB is a versatile event venue designed to meet the needs of any gathering, from intimate get-togethers to grand celebrations," the Shelby HUB’s Facebook page noted.
Roub noted that the burned building was near another one that burned in downtown Shelby in 2023. That building, from the 2023 fire, eventually was demolished in 2024.
Video courtesy of Lauren Bishop
Motorists and others were advised to avoid the area as Shelby fire crews worked at the scene, which is along Main near Broadway/Mansfield Avenue, a major Shelby traffic corridor.
"Avoid East Main Street. Shelby working structure fire, the street is closed and multiple departments are on the scene fighting the blaze in near zero temperatures," Shelby Firefighters Local 2492 said via social media.
Firefighters were at the scene for about four-and-a-half hours.
“Shelby Fire wishes to thank the mutual aid departments: C,B&S Joint (Shiloh), Springfield Twp., Madison Twp. and Plymouth," Chief Thompson said. "We also wish to thank the Shelby Line Department, Water Treatment, Police, and especially the Street Department for the assistance with the backhoe and salt."
"We also want to thank the Eagles Club, Red Cross, and several of the local pizza establishments for food and drink for the firefighters," Thompson added.