Fire at old Aileen plant investigated

Debris being removed from former textile facility burned in late night Saturday blaze

By Sally Voth -- svoth@nvdaily.com

EDINBURG -- A fire at the former Aileen plant north of Edinburg is under investigation, Shenandoah County Fire Marshal David Ferguson said Monday.

He said a fire was reported at the plant at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, and firefighters responded from Edinburg, Woodstock and Mt. Jackson.

While he was heading to church at about 9 a.m. Sunday, Ferguson said he saw smoke coming from the facility, and called the fire depar
tment back out to fully extinguish it.
Mainly debris burned, Ferguson said.

"They're demolishing parts of the building," he said. "Some of the components that were being removed, they caught fire.

"There's not really any value to the items that were on fire due to the fact it was just debris that was being removed from the facility."

Ferguson said the plant is owned by Darryl Bates.

In December 2009, Bates said he had owned the former textile plant for a couple of years and hadn't been able to find a tenant.

He said he hoped to turn it into an industrial park housing six or seven properties.
Bates could not be reached for comment Monday night.

Ferguson said he will meet with Bates on Thursday to review whether there is anything at the plant that could prove hazardous if it caught fire. He said he did not note any visible hazards there this weekend.

Ferguson asked that anyone with any information about the fire call the Shenandoah County Department of Fire and Rescue at 459-6167.