MONROE COUNTY, W.Va. – At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 11, the Monroe County Courthouse experienced a fire. According to the official press release from the Monroe County Clerk, the fire occurred between the second and third floors of the building.
Although the fire was put out, the structure did face damage, though it was mostly due to water.
“A call was received by Monroe 911 from a department of highways snowplow driver, that he [had] seen flames and heard alarms in the courthouse,” explained Richard Miller, Director of Monroe County 911 and Emergency Management. “Upon Union Fire Department’s arrival, they found smoke and flames from the first and second floor.”
The courthouse has recently been under renovation, adding a new courtroom to the building. Despite this occurrence, the President of the Monroe County Commission, Melvin Young, is hopeful that this will not be a major setback.
“…I don’t perceive it adding a lot more time to the… renovation of the courthouse. There [are] problems but…we’ll get through it,” said Young.
Responding to the damage, the County Commission convened an emergency session to declare a county state of emergency. This declaration allows Monroe County to bypass the bidding process required by law, helping to enable faster repairs.
Young remarked in the press release:
This fire is still currently under investigation with the source of the fire still unknown.
For more information, you can find the County Clerk’s on Facebook here.
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