CHAPMANVILLE — A major fire in the Chapmanville area last night brought firefighters from over half a dozen stations rushing to the scene to put it out.

The fire took place in the old Freeman Furniture building near Main Street in Chapmanville and the 911 call went out around 11:06 p.m. It took firefighters from Chapmanville, Henlawson, Logan, Main Harts, Sharples, Harts, Danville and Lake fire departments nearly four hours to get the blaze out. Miraculously no one was harmed in the incident, however, due to concerns for safety some residents of the Chapmanville Towers were prepared for evacuation.

"We had a doozy last night. It used to be the Freeman Furniture store, a three story complex. We kept the fire from spreading, but there was a wall which partially collapsed onto the Exxon station next door. There was some smoke that made it to the Towers so we moved them to the other side as a precaution, but we did not have to evacuate them," Lt. Nick Ferrell of the Logan Fire Department said this morning. "We cleared up around 3:30 a.m. Main Street was closed for about six hours because there were power lines nearby which was a concern."

Fighting a fire in the dead of winter poses special problems. Often, water will run off a structure and hit the ground and freeze up.

"There were some slick spots there but nothing of a major hazard," Ferrell said. "A lot of it did freeze over when the fire was over."

The three story building had formerly housed business such as an antique shop, furniture store, flower shop and currently housed Sharp Dressed Cleaners..

Although there was some minor damage to an Exxon station next door, it was still open for business this morning.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. No injuries were reported. Witnesses said the firefighters did a great job of keeping the fire under control and keeping it from spreading.