Mumford, N.Y.- Route 36 in Mumford and Caledonia reopened Wednesday afternoon after propane tanks were off-loaded from Burnwell Propane in Mumford.
On Tuesday, a massive fire swept through Burnwell Propane on Main Street. One Burnwell employee, Randy Fellows, was injured as a result and a firefighter was treated for a hand injury at the scene.
The call came in around 3 p.m. and 24 fire departments responded to the three-alarm fire.
Andrew Zantopp owns a business across the street from the facility.
"I heard the explosion," he said. "I looked over my right shoulder and I saw the roof of the building explode into flames and then the building was quickly engulfed in a huge fireball."
As propane tanks caught fire, the explosions could be heard for miles and continued for hours.
Mumford Fire Chief Mike Burnside says that the smaller propane tanks on the facility were on fire, but the larger thousand gallon tanks were not.
As a precaution, residents near the facility were evacuated and others in the area were told to stay inside.
Mumford residents say that they have always feared that a fire would break out at Burnwell.
"We were always kind of scared with the big tanks down here," says Mumford resident Charles Johnson. "They said that if one of the big tanks ever blew up, it would wipe Mumford right off the map."
The fire department also seemed to prepare for fire at the facility. They say they trained at the Burnwell Propane Company annually.
"This is a building that we have pre-planned for, for years," says fire chief Mike Burnside. "The facility has been here for at least 40 to 50 years. We've been there a lot of times for minor calls. We pre-planned and we drilled, so today, we knew what the challenges were going into it."
The fire was under control by Tuesday evening. The building was destroyed.
The injured man, Randy Fellows, was burned on his face and arms, but he is expected to recover. He is listed in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital.
The cause of the fire is now under investigation.
