As drinking water conservation orders remain in effect, firefighters used water from nearby Limestone Creek to control a fully involved fire at a Minoa business

By Vince Gasparini
syracuse.com

MINOA, N.Y. — Firefighters used water from a nearby stream to put out a fire at a business in Minoa Friday evening as the area remains under orders to conserve drinking water.

Around 6:40 p.m., firefighters were called to Action Top Soil at 6320 Costello Pkwy. after someone reported seeing flames shooting in the air from the business, according to Minoa Mayor William F. Brazill.

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The fire was fully involved with large flames in the back of the building when firefighters arrived, Brazill said.

Tanker trucks pumped water into their hoses from the nearby Limestone Creek in order to take control of the fire, he said.

Minoa is in the town of Manlius, which is one of six Central New York towns affected by a water pipe rupture in Cicero. Officials have urged residents of these towns to conserve water while the pipe is being repaired, or else they may run out of water.

“We’re doing our part on conserving,” Brazill said. “We could really branch out and look outside the box, and this is the old way of fighting fires: drafting from a pond when you didn’t have fire hydrants.”

At 9 p.m., firefighters were still fighting the blaze. The building was so severely damaged that it will have to be torn down, Brazill said.

No injuries were reported, and nobody was inside the building when the fire broke out, he said. Firefighters are still investigating the cause.

Tankers from nearby fire departments were on standby with extra water but were not called to the scene, Brazill said.

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