Fire Destroys East Lawrence Warehouse
A one-story warehouse packed with barrels of ground wheat grass caught fire Monday night, leaving just the outer walls standing. The building belongs to Pines International, which processes wheat grass for nutritional supplements. The company’s co-owner, Ron Seibold, said up to 300 cardboard barrels of wheat grass to be used for food donations and animal feed were in the building. The fire was reported about 8:15 p.m. and spread quickly at the building, behind RSC Electric Inc. at 1040 E 23rd. Two of the four ladder trucks responding to the fire shot water from above, but the fire continued to spread from one end of the building to the other. “It’s all knotty pine inside,” said a Pines International supervisor, Mike Leonard. “That’s why it’s cooking like that. Every wall is knotty pine.
There was speculation among Pines employees that the fire might be related to high school students’ unsanctioned use of the building.
Employees said Lawrence High School students had used the building, which has a meeting room, as a party house. About a month ago, police busted a keg party—complete with a live band—after people complained of the noise.
Lawrence firefighters pour heavy amounts of water Monday evening on a Pines International warehouse near 23rd and Haskell.
Fire officials didn’t have a cause late Monday night, and Seibold said it’s possible the fire was unrelated to the parties or someone breaking in. A police spokesman said there wasn’t any immediately evident link to any activity at the building in the past.
“But I don’t know what else would have caught it on fire, unless someone was living in there,” he said.
The fire won’t affect production at the company, which went into business about 21 years ago. The company is based north of Lawrence at Midland Junction on U.S. Highway 59. Since the company’s building in Lawrence was first constructed, there have been three additions to it.
“There’s a lot of memories. This is where we started in Lawrence,” Seibold said. “I spent a lot of nights here. I more or less lived here.”
A steady flow of water ran off the property, causing a small stream to form in 23rd Street.
Douglas Fire and Medical Battalion Chief Bill Start said the fire was fully involved by the time firefighters arrived. Investigators hadn’t entered the building Monday night.
AS SEEN IN Lawrence Journal World, April 1, 1997 / Written by Chris Koger
