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Tested by fire, Wendell August will forge on
Historic building ‘pretty much a loss’; no one hurt
Twenty-one fire departments banded together Saturday to put down one of the worst fires in Grove City in years – which has touched countless people in the community, nation and beyond.
“I appreciate everything surrounding firefighters did for us,” said Jeff Badger, Grove City fire chief.
Grove City firefighters got a call around 1:35 p.m. Saturday that Wendell August Forge, a historic business in town on Madison Avenue, was engulfed in flames.
Wendell August makes decorative plates and ornaments out of bronze, pewter, silver, copper and aluminum with hand-carved steel dies.
Its craftsmanship is an American treasure, and its business is one of a kind in the nation.
“This is a great loss to the whole industry,” said Dr. Tom Armour, a retired local physician, whose famous metal-designing father, Arthur Armour, got his start at Wendell August in 1932.
The forge seemed to come to an end when firefighters arrived on Saturday, however. Flames were “coming out of the front of the building towards Madison,” Badger said.
About 20 employees and patrons were there when the fire began, he said, noting that everyone got out safely.
The fire began in the forge’s factory when an employee was spraying lacquer in a paint booth “on the bronze stuff they were making,” he said.
Badger wasn’t sure how the lacquer ignited, but “there was a fire outside the paint booth where the vent fan had been,” he said. “Evidently, the vent fan malfunctioned.”
The fire took about three hours to ”get under control,” the chief said. “We worked on overhaul another eight hours.”
Firefighters left the scene around 10:30 p.m., went back an hour later, and wrapped up at the fire station around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
“There was a lot of fire for one thing, that’s why it took so long,” Badger said.
He estimated about 400,000 to 500,000 gallons of water used from tankers and fire hydrants.
No firefighters were hurt while putting down the blaze, he added.
“It was pretty much a loss, but we were able to get stuff out for them, some safes and stuff,” Badger said.
The forge’s important, decorative historic dies were also saved.
“My understanding is they had about 2,800 dies,” Badger noted.
Many dies are secured in large concrete vault that is still accessible, said Bill Minner, a courier with Wendell August who acted as security on Monday at the site, which was still smoldering and had pockets of fire.
A large metal plaque with a stag and doe design was pulled from the office area before it was destroyed on Saturday, added Armour, who also scanned the rubble on Monday.
The plaque was made by his father, who worked six months at Wendell August during the Depression, was laid off and started his own business, which made him famous.
Arthur Armour was commissioned to make the plaque for the Stag and Doe Restaurant in the 1950s, Armour noted. It found its way to Wendell August via owner Will Knecht, who is a collector.
Knecht “is an owner that cares,” added Minner. “He’s a Christian. He’ll rebuild. We all have something to look forward to.”
The fire touched many in the community, including former employees like Fawn Todd.
“It was kind of surreal,” she said on Monday.
Todd lives with her children on Princeton Street. Their backyard abuts Wendell August’s parking lot.
Todd’s street was closed much of the day, with people “pouring over” to Wendell August to see the fire, she added. Most people walked through her yard to get to the scene.
“It was quite a show of humanity and all its great shapes and colors. There were nice people, there were rude people,” Todd said.
“People were pulling stuff out, praying together. That was really special. It was sad and neat to see people pulling together and trying to make it better.”
Like many, Melissa Bulfone of Grove City photographed the blaze. She was seeking employment as a catalog photographer with the forge; her husband, Chris, has worked there for many years.
“It’s just a shame,” she said.
Minner noted that people from as far as Canada drove to Grove City to share in the loss.
He also read comments from forge-lovers on Facebook, a social network on the Internet. “The outpouring is from all over the country,” Minner said. “We have a fantastic customer base.”
Among the 21 fire companies, some came from as far as Hermitage and Unionville to assist in the Wendell August fire.
“I can’t tell you how many tankers were there,” Badger said. “I gotta give credit to the other fire departments. It’s much appreciated.”
Badger believes the fire was the worst Grove City has seen in a long time.
He noted a fire in 1981 that damaged several storefronts on South Broad Street, starting at what was Ithen Printing’s former shop – next to Saxony House Furniture – and burning up to Pine Street.
More recently was a bad fire at the former Pizza House on South Broad – between the Guthrie Theater and Tower Presbyterian Church – more than 10 years ago.
It destroyed the building, which included a hot-dog shop. The space left is now a downtown parking lot.
The Wendell August fire “ranks up there,” Badger said.
He couldn’t estimate the cost of damages to the forge.
With “their manufacturing process and stuff like that, it could be in the millions,” Badger said, which he’d leave up to the company’s insurance company to determine.
“Hopefully they can get back into business pretty quick,” he said.
Wendell August spokesperson, Karen Anderson, said on Monday that no jobs will be lost from the fire.
Production will be moved to the forge’s distributions center, which has been housed for several years in the former Cooper-Bessemer building on Lincoln Avenue.
“We are looking to open in a storefront on Broad Street until we can rebuild,” Anderson added.
“We are going to be OK.”
Allied News staff writer Carol Ann Gregg contributed to this story.
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