Building destroyed in blaze
PHOTOS BY CHRISTINA McCUNE | BGNN
From left, the back and front of the building in the 400 block of W Tuscarawas Avenue that was heavily damaged by fire Sept. 18. Historic landmark tax credits had been secured to help pay for a rehab project, of which the building was part.
By BOB MOREHEAD
BGNN senior staff writer
BARBERTON It was a bold idea. Take a blighted eyesore at the edge of downtown doomed to demolition and find a partner who would turn it into something wonderful.
The property was the Herald-Cox-Powell building complex on the corner of W Tuscarawas Avenue and Wooster Road N and W. One-third of that hyphenated name, the historic original home of the storied Barberton Herald, burned up late Sept. 18, its face collapsing onto Tusc.
There were no casualties other than the property itself.
No word yet on how the more-than 100-year-old printing press still lurking in the building’s basement fared.
Historic Herald-Powell LLC had secured historic landmark tax credits from the state late last year that were to help pay for the ambitious rehabilitation project, a mix of retail and residential space making a welcoming entrance to the downtown.
“We are still assessing the damage,” Mayor William Judge told BGNN. “But I have been in contact with the developer and will work with the development team as this moves forward.”
Barberton fire crews were dispatched to the scene around 10:30 that night for reports of a commercial structure fire.
Firefighter Joe Babcock said in a release that the first arriving units found heavy smoke and fire coming through the roof of the structure.
Within one minute of being on the scene, he said, the front of the structure collapsed onto W Tuscarawas Avenue. Photos on social media around that time showed towering flames; the crews began defensive operations to protect surrounding structures, including the adjacent Boilermakers Union hall, and by 10:51 p.m., the fire was extinguished.
Firefighters searched the building and the two conjoining buildings and found no victims. The fire is under investigation by the South Summit Fire Investigation Unit and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
“We would like to thank the Barberton Police Department, Street Department and fire crews from Norton, New Franklin, and Coventry for assisting,” Babcock said. “We will provide further details when they become available.”
