At about 11:15 last Thursday evening an automatic alarm was activated indicating a fire at the White River Valley Electric Co-op building on NW 9th Street in Ava.
Policeman Tim Stuart was the first to arrive on scene and reported to the responding fire department that there was heavy smoke coming from the rear of the building.
The Ava Volunteer Fire Department arrived moments later, along with White River supervisor David Litwiller, to find that the building’s automatic sprinkler system had activated.
When firemen entered the truck garage on the west end of the building, the fire was quickly located in a digger truck, and was soon extinguished.
The one truck was still on fire when the firefighters entered the building and sustained heavy damage, but the sprinklers had held the flames at bay and prevented further damage to other vehicles or the building.
Five other trucks, a forklift, and a utility ATV received nothing more than smoke damage, and the building itself sustained practically no damage at all.
The business office on the east side of the building was not affected by the fire and offices were open there on Friday as usual.
Ava Fire Chief Eddie Maggard said this fire should serve as a testimonial as to why building codes now require sprinklers in all commercial buildings.
Although the building is entirely concrete and metal construction, if the fire would have ignited the truck’s fuel tank and spread to the other vehicles, there is little doubt that the entire building would have been lost.
In the meantime, White River Valley Electric officials at Branson issued a statement early Friday morning, thanking the Ava Fire Department for its quick response in putting out the fire and preventing further damage.
