A fire at a longtime Fort Collins business Monday caused more than $1 million in damage, the Poudre Valley Fire Authority said today.
Crews worked through the night to snuff out the stubborn fire in the 75-foot by 200-foot shop and storage building at Forney Industries at 1830 LaPorte Ave.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is among the agencies investigating the cause of the fire.
The fire began about 5:15 p.m., and about about three hours later an “emergency notification” was telephoned to nearby residents about the “potentially dangerous smoke that started to blanket the surrounding neighborhoods.”
This morning, a fire department hazardous materials team, along with county and state health officials, tested the smoke using remote and hand-held monitors and determined there was no health risk, other than to those with pre-existing sensitivities to smoke.
According to its website, Forney Industries is “one of America’s longest-operating family-owned distribution companies.” The company started in 1932 and opened its hub in Fort Collins in 1949. Today Forney distributes more than 4,500 products to hardware, automotive, farm, ranch and other retailers, according to its website.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
