Electrical Box Causes Kitchen Fire at Clarke County Fairgrounds
By: Carmen Chau
Updated: November 12, 2012
BERRYVILLE, VA - A fire broke out in the kitchen building at the Clarke County Fairgrounds causing major damage.
Officials with the fairgrounds say they received a call at 4:30 a.m. from the sheriff's department on Sunday morning.
"They told me that they need me at the fairgrounds because of a fire. So I said immediately, 'I'll be there.' So when I arrived, the roof was down in the kitchen here," says Jim Sipe, chairman of the Clarke County Fairgrounds.
According to Sipe, the fire was reportedly caused from the electrical box. Although the kitchen had been unoccupied for two months, the appliances inside were left on everyday.
Sipe had built part of the building four years ago and even purchased brand new equipment for it.
"It's really saddening to me because we've had a lot of bad luck here the last several years and this is almost now and but we will survive it," adds Sipe.
Sipe told WHAG this was not the first fire they have encountered at the fairgrounds.
"We had a fire several years ago ... versus on the back side of our property that burned out on the inside," says Sipe.
Despite the damage, Sipe hopes to rebuild a stronger kitchen in the near future.
No one was inside the building during the fire. Officials with the Berryville Volunteer Fire Department are still investigating.
Officials with the fairgrounds say they received a call at 4:30 a.m. from the sheriff's department on Sunday morning.
"They told me that they need me at the fairgrounds because of a fire. So I said immediately, 'I'll be there.' So when I arrived, the roof was down in the kitchen here," says Jim Sipe, chairman of the Clarke County Fairgrounds.
According to Sipe, the fire was reportedly caused from the electrical box. Although the kitchen had been unoccupied for two months, the appliances inside were left on everyday.
Sipe had built part of the building four years ago and even purchased brand new equipment for it.
"It's really saddening to me because we've had a lot of bad luck here the last several years and this is almost now and but we will survive it," adds Sipe.
Sipe told WHAG this was not the first fire they have encountered at the fairgrounds.
"We had a fire several years ago ... versus on the back side of our property that burned out on the inside," says Sipe.
Despite the damage, Sipe hopes to rebuild a stronger kitchen in the near future.
No one was inside the building during the fire. Officials with the Berryville Volunteer Fire Department are still investigating.
