Vernon County Meats burns

Firefighters observe as flames engulf the building at Vernon County Meats on Tuesday, just before noon. Meanwhile, firefighters a few feet away pumped water on the building to contain the blaze.

By Ben Holman

Nevada Daily Mail

Tuesday morning, at 11:22 a.m., Nevada firefighters responded to a fire at Vernon County Meats in Nevada.

Intense heat was one of the factors battled by firefighters on Tuesday, when the Vernon County Meats facility burned to the ground. In this photo, one can see flames shoot into the air, breaking through the roof and out of windows.

The first firefighters on scene reported that the building was fully involved and immediately called for back-up. Fire crews brought tankers from Milo, Compton Junction and Walker to aid Nevada crews and fought what was described as a "defensive" fire fighting effort due to the heavy involvement of the fire.

A press release from the Nevada Fire Department said it was an electrical fire. According to witnesses, flames reached as high as 40 feet in the air, spewing out a column of black smoke that could be seen on the far north side of Nevada.

During the 5-1/2 hours that firefighters were on the scene, firefighters took special precautions to hose down a propane tank that serviced the building to protect it against ignition. The building is described as a total loss.

Early in the evening, crews were recalled to the scene to extinguish structural material that had collapsed and was smoldering.

Sharon and Wilbur Smith, who own the business, said that they are still considering their options at this point. "It's the day after and we're trying to put together an inventory for the insurance company," said Sharon.

"There's no way to reopen -- the building's gone," she added. "The fire's not even completely out yet," she said this morning, "it's still smoldering."

She said that one of their options is to open in a location that they own west of Nevada. "We've thought about it, but it would need some renovation." She said that they hadn't really had an opportunity to get their thoughts together and that opening in the other location was something they would consider.

"We had a business there and closed it because it didn't go," Sharon said. She said that they felt connected to the community through their many years of service and were grateful for the supportive messages they have received. "He's been in business for 32 years and, right now, it's hour-by-hour."

Sharon said that they were telling their customers to look to a Golden City facility for their processing since it is the closest alternative.

The loss will not only affect the Smiths and their customers but will also create the need for other businesses who depend of Vernon County Meats to supply their products.

Cubbage Country Market is one such local business that relies on Vernon County Meats to process their meat. "We use all of our own animals, but Vernon County Meats does the processing for us," said a Cubbage employee.

Davola Garrett, a Cubbage representative, said this morning that they would be meeting today to discuss their options. "It's not going to close us down," she said.

"We've got plenty of meat, come see us," she said.

Nevada residents report that the loss of such a long-standing business as Vernon County Meats will be dearly felt. "A lot of us went down there to get our meat," said Richard Staihr, Nevada resident. "We're going to miss it."