This is video from Mitchell Schultheis taken Wednesday night as firefighters arrive at an old shoe factory burning in Salem, Illinois. The fire damaged at least one home. Near the beginning of the video you can hear a neighbor yelling critical comments about firefighters. The Salem Fire Protection District calls it one of the largest fires in Salem history.
The video captures multiple collapses as the large building crumbles. One of the most significant collapses occurs at about 12:20 into the video.
Officials now confirm they are dealing with an arsonist in town. There was another fire today (Friday) in a large, mostly vacant, structure (See video and info below).
The old Brown Shoe Factory building at West Whitaker and South College Street in Salem has been destroyed in a huge fire late Wednesday night that was so hot the heat caught a house across the street on fire causing heavy damage. The fire also cast the north and west sides of Salem into darkness as the main power line that serves those sections of town fell to the ground in front of the factory after several transformer explosions.
The large structure that formerly housed the shoe factory is now used for storage by Dalton Storage. It was not immediately clear what was being stored in the building.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHuKZB_s5lw
For the second time in two days dozens of firefighters have been battling a major fire in Salem, Illinois.
Friday morning’s fire burned about a half-a-block in the 200 block of S. Walnut, just off the downtown square. Wednesday night a blaze destroyed the old Brown Shoe Factory and a nearby home about four blocks away, in the 600 block of S. Maple.
According to Salem Fire Marshal William Fulton, Friday’s fire started at about 4:30 am in a storage building and spread to the pregnancy center next door. Both were destroyed.
With the fire coming less than two days after the blaze that destroyed the old Brown Shoe Company building, Salem Police Chief Sean Reynolds is confident they are now dealing with someone setting fires. Salem firefighters have called multiple fire departments for mutual aid.
