Fire destroyed a Lower Windsor Township municipal maintenance building and its contents Thursday morning, according to York County 911 and reports from the scene.
As of 10:35 a.m., Craley Fire Chief Jesse Frantz said the fire was under control, but it would take three to four hours before firefighters could leave the scene. Frantz said one firefighter was taken to York Hospital, possibly due to heat exhaustion.
The blaze, called out around 8 a.m., destroyed the building on Walnut Valley Court near Hakes Hollow Road, according to Lower Windsor Township Police Chief Tim Caldwell.
Caldwell said the building and its contents are a complete loss. Two municipal trucks and lawnmowers that were in use at the time were saved, but everything that was inside the building -- such as dump trucks, lawn mowers and pickups -- was destroyed.
The building also housed the Eastern York Area Recreational Commission, which runs a preschool, Lower Windsor Township Manager Maureen Hartman said. No one from the school was inside when the fire started, she said.
Explosions could be heard as fuel and other items caught fire inside the building, Caldwell said.
The cause of the fire is unknown. A state police fire marshal is investigating.
Dozens of crews were called to the scene from across the county and as far south as Harford County, Md.
A dark column of smoke was visible rising from the scene and could be seen from miles away.
http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_23772711/911-crews-responding-structure-fire-lower-windsor-township