951 Elm St. Structure Fire

On Friday July 12, 2024, at 6:37 pm, the City of York Department of Fire/Rescue Services was dispatched to 417 S. Albemarle St. for a structure fire. Upon arrival there was heavy fire showing from the first and second floors already through the roof on the Albemarle side extending well into the structure. The actual address was 951 Elm St. and was the former York Hoover Body Corp.

The building was over 151,000 square feet, and was being used as a distribution warehouse and had a variety of different products being stored there which contributed to the fire fuel load. This building, with the size being almost two blocks in length and one block in width posed several issues and challenges with trying to extinguish the fire. Crews were met with a heavy volume of fire and was rapidly extending; it was determined that the building fire would not be able to be extinguished. The primary focus then became protecting the surrounding exposure buildings.

York City has a very reliable hydrant system but with the size of the fire and volumes of water needed it was quickly determined that the system would become overtaxed. The decision was made to set up tanker fill sites around the area to assist with the water demand, and also if there happened to be other exposure building fires in the area having a good water supply. Unfortunately, in this process two tankers collided, and several firefighters were injured.

The bulk of the fire was extinguished after midnight and crews remained on the scene extinguishing hot spots until Monday afternoon July 15th. Due to the building becoming unstable and starting to collapse, the building was demolished for safety reasons. The fire went to six alarms with numerous outside departments assisting with mutual aid.

We would like to thank all the assisting departments and the many businesses and private residents who donated food and beverages to the firefighters during this event.

The fire investigation is being conducted by the York City Police Detectives, and York City Fire Department and remains under investigation at this time.