Businesses rally as investigation unfolds in Puxico fire disaster

PUXICO — Owners of The Midway and other businesses in a downtown block of Puxico that burned Saturday morning will begin combing through the rubble this week and trying to determine what to do next.

An investigation into the cause is currently underway, with both the state fire marshal and the Department of Natural Resources involved.

What started as a fire in one business, ultimately took out four businesses and two newly-renovated office spaces. Daily American Republic reporters on scene Saturday captured video of the fire that can be viewed here.

Fire at the Midway Restaurant in Puxico was reported at approximately 5:45 a.m. Saturday. Ultimately, 15 fire departments responded, with 13 of them there for tank support, said Dexter Fire Department Chief Don Seymore.

The fire was particularly brutal, reportedly burning through two different firewalls in the block of structures. The fire spread form the Midway Restaurant to Shelter Insurance, which is owned by Mark Crisel; then to the accounting service of Larry S. Ward, CPA; and then to the offices of Puxico Weekly Press, owned by Dee Loflin.

Investigation

Puxico Fire Chief Larry Doublin said Monday the state fire marshal and the Department of Natural Resources are both investigating. DNR is looking into the potential presence of asbestos.

This is the third time in Puxico’s history the 200 block of Richardson Avenue has burned, Doublin added.

Business owners take stock

Owners of The Midway thanked all of the first responders for their work via a social media post Sunday.

The business will be closed indefinitely while they decide what to do next, they said.

“We are thankful for the support we received yesterday and from the very start. We are thankful for the caring words, gestures, and most importantly we feel all the prayers.

“There are many decisions to be made moving forward. As of now, the road is a bit hazy and we are not confident in the path to choose. We need days to process and not be (rash) with our actions,” the owners said. “We are praying for others who lost their businesses. We are devastated for the whole community.

“Ultimately, thank you for the support through our last couple years. We have shared beautiful memories with others and celebrating their milestones. Thank you for helping us live out our dream. Thank you for supporting our small family business in small town USA.”

Loflin said Saturday she never thought she would be reporting on the loss of her own business.

Next to the Puxico Weekly Press were two office buildings that had been renovated in the past year. Beyond those spaces, at the end of the block, was an efficiency apartment building owned by Christian Family Fellowship.

“We were able to save that corner building,” Seymore remarked at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Now what?

“I lost everything,” Ward noted. “I lost all my (physical) files. I lost everything that was in that office.”

Ward said he is grateful that he was able to retrieve his server from his office before the fire spread.

The CPA office has said it will still be doing taxes this year and hopes to replace basic office equipment this week. Staff is available via cell phones for customers.

“Everything I had is gone now,” Loflin added. “And there was so much history that I had collected in the office. I had editions of the Puxico Press that went back to the 70s and 80s. And now everything is just gone.”

Loflin has operated the Puxico Weekly Press since 2019. She announced on social media there will be an edition of the Puxico Weekly Press this week.

Crisel also shared words of thanks to first responders via social media Sunday.

“We cannot put into words the amount of gratitude and respect we have for the many firefighters and volunteers that battled the fire and assisted us in trying to save as much as possible from the offices,” Crisel said. “Words are never enough.

“For the moment, if you have an issue you may call either my office number or our Customer Service line. Phones will either be routed directly to Customer Service, my cell or to my new temp location when that is established.”

Region-wide response

“It’s a sad day. It’s a sad day for Puxico,” lamented Puxico City Alderman Peter Coutavas. “It’s crazy that this would happen now, when the city is forced to use its secondary water tower.”

Coutavas went on to explain the main water tower for Puxico is down for maintenance, and a secondary tower has been in use recently while the primary tower is worked on.

“The water tower situation didn’t have anything to do with complications of this fire,” Seymore explained. “We did have to set up a drop tank where we could take water from other pumper trucks. I’m not sure exactly how much water was used in total, but we did take approximately 150,000 gallons just from the trucks.”

The Dexter aerial ladder used the 13 tankers for water support using over 150,000 gallons of water that was hauled in by those tankers from a private pond, according to Seymore.

The Bloomfield ladder truck was flowing off the city water supply, he said. Over 300,000 gallons were used by them.

“All efforts were made to save these businesses in town,” said Seymore, whose department had also battled an apartment structure fire in Dexter before 4:30 a.m. Saturday. They were called at 8:45 a.m. to the Puxico fire.

Seymore was put in charge of the fire scene when Dexter crews arrived. The Region E mutual aid agreement was also activated immediately Saturday morning.

“I activated the tanker operations for the region to bring the tankers in with their water,” Seymore explained. “We were able to use all of that and we never did put any vacuum on the Puxico water lines, so there is no damage there.”

The Poplar Bluff Fire Department also answered the mutual aid call, according to a PBFD incident report. They were dispatched at 10:47 a.m.

“PBFD crew entered the front of (The Midway) with a 1 3/4-inch hose line and began an interior attack. PBFD crew was pulled out of the structure due to deteriorating conditions,” the report stated.

An excavator pulled down the front of the building to preclude a collapse and crews re-entered the building from the rear to extinguish the fire.

Fire crews were reportedly called back out to the scene over the weekend to help put out hot spots that reappeared in the burned structures.

Additional reporting by Editor Donna Farley and staff writer Barbara Ann Horton.