A fast-moving fire tore through a commercial warehouse in the Belforest community of Baldwin County Tuesday morning, damaging several small businesses housed under one roof and drawing crews from five fire departments across the Eastern Shore.
The call came in shortly after 8 a.m. reporting a structure fire in the area of Highway 181 and Milton Jones Road, with an early report of billowing black smoke and the possibility that someone might be trapped inside. Firefighters arriving on scene quickly confirmed the building was empty and turned their full attention to knocking down flames that had already engulfed a large portion of the warehouse.
“Fully involved. A lot of black smoke showing,” said Belforest Volunteer Fire Department Battalion Chief Ethan Bertagnolli, describing the scene his crews found on arrival. “Luckily, Daphne and Belforest were the first units in. Got it knocked down real quick to start overhaul.”
No injuries were reported among the businesses’ employees, customers or the roughly 100 firefighters and volunteers who responded. Officials say the sheer scale of the response reflected how quickly the fire had spread once it took hold.
“I bet it was 20 different fire trucks here and probably 100 people or more,” said Jerry Giles, who operates a business on the opposite side of the warehouse from where the fire is believed to have started. “I said, golly, this looks like a Chicago Fire or something.”
Investigators believe the fire originated at a golf cart repair and sales business tucked in the back corner of the building before spreading toward a volleyball court and then into the neighboring storefronts. Fire officials say lithium batteries stored at the golf cart business are one possible source under review, though no official cause has been determined.
“I believe it’s a golf cart business,” Bertagnolli said. “It’s still under active investigation so I’m not too sure what caused it, but I believe it’s a golf cart business all the way in the back. From there, it spread to a volleyball court it appears and then into overall businesses as well.”
Cornel Onisa, deputy fire marshal for the City of Daphne, said his office is being deliberate before pointing to a specific cause. “That’s one direction that we’re going in,” Onisa said. “We want to exhaust every possible option before we come to a determination or speculate what caused the fire. We have the state fire marshal on scene.” The Alabama State Fire Marshal’s office is assisting Daphne and Belforest investigators as the probe continues.
Businesses inside the warehouse were left assessing the damage well into the afternoon. Giles said his shop escaped the flames themselves but was soaked by runoff water, filled with smoke and dust, and left without power. “I had water in there and a lot of smoke, and the dust and things like that; you can’t go in there. No power or anything like that right now. So I can’t run computers, air conditioning,” he said, adding that he expects to be closed for up to a week while cleanup and repairs get underway.
Not everyone escaped so lightly. Much of the fire damage was concentrated near the golf cart shop, and at least one customer arrived hoping to retrieve a cart that had been dropped off for service. “We were just going to come by and see if we could pick it up, but now we’re sitting there looking at it, and it’s not that good, but it’s okay,” said Cade Wallace. “As long as everybody’s out safe, that’s fine.”
Other tenants scrambled to keep their operations running despite the disruption. Victoria Vanderford, who works for the Two Maids cleaning service based in the building, said she arrived to find the parking lot full of smoke. “As soon as we started to pass by the office to get into the parking lot, we realized something was on fire,” she said. She and her coworkers were able to grab supplies from their office before the area was closed off, allowing the cleaning crews to keep working through the week.
Daphne Fire Department led the response alongside Belforest Volunteer Fire Department, with mutual aid from the Fairhope Volunteer Fire Department, Spanish Fort Fire Department and Loxley Volunteer Fire Department. Bertagnolli praised the cooperation among the agencies. “We really appreciate them and all the other departments that came to help put it out,” he said. “Without them, you know, this fire would still be going. Just really hard work from everyone involved.”
The fire broke out during the Tuesday morning commute, and Baldwin County officials asked drivers to avoid the area as emergency vehicles crowded the roadway; southbound Highway 181 was reduced to one lane for much of the morning. Warehouse-style buildings that house multiple small tenants, like the one on Highway 181, are common throughout fast-growing Baldwin County, and fire officials routinely remind business owners to keep an eye on battery storage, extension cords and other everyday fire risks that can turn a small mishap into a major blaze. The investigation into the exact cause remains open, and officials say updates will follow as the state fire marshal completes its work.