Fire at gun store shuts down Ohio road; fireworks and ammunition believed to have gone off

By Karin Johnson & Kurt Knue

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    MILFORD, Ohio (WLWT) — A fire at a guns and ammunition shop shut down a major road in Clermont County on Wednesday.

It happened around 4 p.m. when Clermont County dispatchers said crews were responding to a fire at Just Guns & Ammo along State Route 131.

The road was shut down between Sugar Camp Road and Buckwheat Road due to the fire, Miami Township Police said in a post to Facebook. Buckwheat Road to Mt. Vernon Road was also closed.

Later on Wednesday evening, a storage shed behind the the store was seen by WLWT cameras to be completely destroyed.

Miami Township Fire Chief Dave Jetter says that fireworks appear to have been stored in the same building with ammunition, and that both appear to have caused extensive damage to the shed.

“Upon arrival, the first company which is right across from the incident scene observed a heavy amount of smoke with active fire on the backside of guns and ammo building,” said Jetter. “At that point in time, the building was fully involved with ammunition that was going off along with what we believe to be fireworks.”

The fire also spread and caused some damage to another nearby store.

The cause of the fire remains unclear.

No injuries were reported from the incident, although Jetter says that one responding Miami Township firefighter had to be transported from the scene after falling ill due to excessive heat exposure. Jetter says that the firefighter is expected to be OK.

The fire department is continuing to investigate the scene, along with federal assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Drivers in the area were advised to find alternative routes on Wednesday as authorities investigated.

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