UNION, West Virginia — Monroe County business will continue to be spread out over a large area following a weekend fire in the county courthouse in Union. The blaze was discovered around 3:30 a.m. Saturday. County Commission President Melvin Young received an early morning wake-up call that no executive wants.
“That day, we were able to get Serv-Pro to come in after we spoke with our insurance company and begin drying things out. Water was the main cause of damage, according to Young.
County offices were already dispersed due to the ongoing courthouse renovation. Since the renovations began, the county’s court system has been held at the Summers County Courthouse and will continue to be so until further notice. The Circuit Clerk’s office had to be relocated, so the county grand jury will reconvene in the Family Court chambers in Union.
“Our courts will operate primarily out of Summers County the way they’ve been doing,” according to him.
The fire, which is still being investigated, broke out on the top floor of the courtroom where renovations were taking place. The water used to extinguish the fire flowed down the stairwell into the basement, near an area where county records from the late 1800s were kept.
According to Young, the documents had some damage but were salvageable. The county has consulted with the state Department of Culture and History for advice on how to best preserve the old documents.
Young, a builder by trade, estimated that the project to renovate the facility would be delayed for several months.
“It’s going to set it back, probably, I would say realistically four months,” he told me.
The project was scheduled to be completed by the summer. The fire may extend things into the fall months.
