A fire at an Aultman facility in Carrollton Wednesday night is believed to have started after roofing materials beneath the building’s roof were accidentally ignited during replacement work, according to Carrollton Fire Chief Shane Thomas.
Firefighters were dispatched to the facility at 1020 Trump Road at approximately 9:54 p.m. Wednesday.
Thomas told Jordan Miller News that a contractor had been working earlier in the day to replace a rubber portion of the building’s roof.
According to Thomas, workers were performing repairs around a roof access hatch, using a propane torch to seal roofing materials together.
Authorities believe the torch may have ignited combustible materials beneath the roof, allowing a fire to smolder undetected for several hours after the roofing crew left the property.
The fire eventually intensified, prompting the emergency response late Wednesday evening.
Thomas said the fire was concentrated in an approximately 2-foot-by-2-foot area near a front corner of the roof.
Smoke entered the building, accompanied by an odor resembling burning wood.
Firefighters from Carrollton responded to the scene, with mutual aid provided by the Fox, Dellroy and Augusta fire departments.
Thomas described the damage to the roof as moderate. Water damage was also reported in one wing of the building as firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.
While the fire was limited to a relatively small section of the roof, the incident resulted in damage both above and inside the facility.
Thomas said the fire is believed to have originated beneath the roofing materials during the earlier repair work, with the heat remaining trapped and smoldering for hours before flames became apparent.
