After sanding and finishing a set of stairs at Trefzger’s Bakery, owners Jeff and Martha Huebner tossed their oil-stained socks into a trash can and went home Sunday afternoon.
Hours later, the socks burst aflame, sparking a fire that caused as much as $250,000 in losses at the business, 4416 N. Prospect Road.
“The socks just started on fire by spontaneous combustion,” Jeff Huebner said. “It was just one of those weird things that we never would have imagined would happen.”
In their stocking feet Sunday afternoon, he and his wife used linseed oil to finish a set of worn stairs on the first floor of the two-story structure. When the job was done, they realized their socks were ruined.
“We just tossed them into the garbage and didn’t think anything of it,” he said.
But late Sunday, with the building unoccupied, the oily socks ignited inside the otherwise empty plastic can, said Peoria Heights Fire Chief Greg Walters. He said that oils like linseed oil, if compressed — such as within a clump of cloth materials, like socks — will heat up and catch the cloth on fire.
That is what occurred inside the Trefzger’s trash can, which melted next to cake-preparation table. A bag inside the can burned and melted, with embers falling onto cardboard boxes under the table. The boxes then caught fire, triggering a fire alarm and Trefzger’s sprinkler system just before 11:30 p.m.
As firefighters responded, Peoria Heights police spotted flames on the first floor of the building. Firefighters arrived to find the fire at the prep table, Walters said.
A crew stretched water lines inside to extinguish the fire, containing the fire damage to that area. The sprinkler system also helped slow the spread of the fire, Walters said. Assisting were firefighters from Peoria, West Peoria and Chillicothe, while Limestone Township firefighters provided back-up coverage.
Walters said that the structure sustained no damage from the actual fire. However, smoke and water damage is extensive, he said. The total loss — including cleanup, plus potential lost revenue and wages — is estimated between $100,000 and $250,000, Walters said.
After contacting his insurer, Jeff Huebner said the business will be closed for a couple of days while a cleanup service — already on the scene Monday morning — put the place back in working order. At the end of the cleanup, the Peoria City/County Health Department will examine the business to clear it for operations again.
On Oct. 13, 2016, Trefzger’s Bakery completed its nine-block move north on Prospect Road and opened for business inside a renovated, 121-year-old former bicycle factory.
Wednesday night’s fire inside the Mission Canadian Tire store is now considered to be suspicious.
According to a press release, the Mission RCMP have opened an active investigation.
Police are seeking any witnesses to the fire and asking them to come forward.
The release asks that if anyone was in the area of Canadian Tire, on London Ave., between 6-7 p.m. during the time of the fire and has dash cam footage, they should forward it to the Mission RCMP Detachment.
Anyone who may have witnessed anything suspicious in the area during the time of the fire are also urged to come forward with information.
The fire broke out inside the Canadian Tire store at about 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 30.
Mission Fire Rescue Service was called and quickly responded.
“Crews, when they arrived on scene, found smoke right to the floor, inside the structure,” said Mission fire chief Dale Unrau.
Firefighters located the blaze “within the racking.” It has been “mostly put out” by the in-building sprinkler system, explained Unrau.
“Firefighters completed extinguishing the fire and at this point in time are just ventilating the structure,” Unrau said on Wednesday night.
There were no injuries to report as staff and customers exited the store safely. No firefighters were injured during the blaze.
Unrau said there is no damage to the structure itself but the clean up will take time.
“The sprinkler system did a great job and extinguished the fire, but there’s lots of water throughout the store and smoke throughout the store as well, so I’m sure the building will be out of service for an extended period of time.”
Several hours later, at about 2 a.m. Thursday morning, firefighters were called out to the store again as a second fire began to burn.
“We’re not quite sure why we had another fire break out in there, but when we left after the first one, our fire investigators had already completed their investigation in the initial fire area and our crews that were ventilating the structure had gone through and done a final check with a thermal camera and everything was cold,” said Unrau.
He called it a mystery and noted that the Mission RCMP were on scene throughout the night, watching the structure until the morning when the police investigation team arrived.
Unrau said the fire is “definitely suspicious.”
“I have a big team of investigators digging through the rubble as we speak.”
Reporting on lives and property saved by fire sprinklers
