Firefighters respond to a large structure fire in an abandoned commercial building complex in the 2400 block of 5th Avenue on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024.
Courtesy of the Huntington Fire Department via Facebook
Firefighters respond to a large structure fire in an abandoned commercial building complex in the 2400 block of 5th Avenue on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024.
Courtesy of the Huntington Fire Department via Facebook
HUNTINGTON òòò½ÊÓƵ” Huntington firefighters spent much of Christmas Day on the scene of a large structure fire at the former Flint pigments property.
The fire in the abandoned commercial building complex was reported before sunrise Wednesday.
The 2400 block of 5th Avenue was closed while firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze. Additional information on the fire was not available by press time Wednesday.
Huntington City Council on Monday approved a resolution to deem the property a public nuisance under West Virginia code. City Attorney Scott Damron said during a public safety committee earlier this month that various buildings on the property are in disrepair, partially torn down, partially collapsed and full of junk and trash.
The resolution will allow the cityòòò½ÊÓƵ™s legal department to pursue an injunction through Circuit Court to require the owner of the property to abate the nuisance by removing any unsafe or collapsing buildings.
Damron said affidavits from the city Fire Marshal Alan Roby and Todd Darst, supervisor/chief building inspector, called the building at the former pigments factory a fire hazard, public safety concern and environmental concern.
The facility originally known as the Standard Ultramarine & Color Co. was one of Huntingtonòòò½ÊÓƵ™s biggest and best-known industries.
In 1971, a massive series of explosions damaged a section of the plant, igniting a fire that burned for six hours. A fire captain died of a heart attack at the scene and 17 firemen were injured.
In 1979, Chemetron sold the plant to BASF Wyandotte, which owned and operated the facility until it was purchased by Flint Group Pigments in 2005.
In June 2017, Flint Group Pigments announced its plans to shut down the old plant. The closure was a result of a declining demand worldwide for alkali blue, which was the only pigment still in production at the plant. At the time, the facility had approximately 50 employees.
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