A Wednesday evening fire in the loading dock of The Star Democrat caused about $500,000 damage, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
The fire delayed the delivery of the July 23 edition of the newspaper, which will be printed and distributed throughout the day, the paper reported on its website.
The fire was reported about 10:10 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, by multiple employees and the building’s monitored fire alarm system, according to the fire marshal’s office. The fire was contained to the exterior loading dock area.
Employees safely evacuated the building without injury and the fire was contained in about an hour by 42 firefighters from the Easton, St. Michaels, and Cordova volunteer fire companies.
Also responding were Talbot County EMS, Easton Police Department, and Talbot County Sheriff’s Office, with Queen Anne-Hillsboro VFC on standby, according to The Star Democrat.
The building at 29088 Airpark Drive is owned and occupied by APG Media of Chesapeake LLC, the owner/publisher of several area newspapers. The facility includes the printing plant for those newspapers.
The fire marshal’s office estimated damage at $50,000 to the structure and $450,000 to contents.
Smoke and fire alarms and a sprinkler system were present and activated.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Anyone with information about the blaze is encouraged to contact the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Upper Eastern Region Office at 410-822-7609.
Shirley Foster says
Dispute the fire and all that was going on at the Star Democrat’s
Headquarters our paper was still delivered before 8 a.m.
Thanks to our conscientious carrier Kathy Millikan !!