Many of the Canaan Valley regulars known where Talheim is....in fact, a few know it really well.

Second major fire in 5 years, this one burned to the ground.  No injuries reported.

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/grubScrew/media/Talheim/Talheim%20fire%20January%202016_zpsv63aosfs.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/grubScrew/Talheim/Talheim%20fire%20January%202016_zpsv63aosfs.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Sorry, try this link:

http://www.wboy.com/story/31062588/fire-departments-respond-to-condo-complex-fire-in-canaan-valley

Damn - That's awful

The last one was a flue fire and I suspect that is the culprit in this one.   

Our condo association in Breckenridge mandates flue cleaning before the start of every winter for each and every one of our 75 units. I guess the Canaan Valley association was not quite as insightful.

I didn't read that this was a "flue fire". Our big fire at SS (6 units pretty totaled) was due to a RENTER that started a fire with the flue CLOSED! It exploded out of the fireplace all over the living room, and that's all she wrote! Extensive water damage from the fire hoses took out units too. Insurance was canceled...had to tear out All the fireplaces from all the units and install (at owners expense) propane electric-start fireplaces. 'Course, now the cost of propane was added in to the already exorbitant HOA fee.

snapdragon wrote:

The last one was a flue fire and I suspect that is the culprit in this one.   

I saw a Facebook post while the fire was raging from a condo owner that stat the fire began in a fireplace at the other end of tube building.

bob wrote:

Our condo association in Breckenridge mandates flue cleaning before the start of every winter for each and every one of our 75 units. I guess the Canaan Valley association was not quite as insightful.

Kick 'em while they're down...

I talked to a former owner (his unit burned in the previous fire) and at that time he recommended that the remaining fireplaces be retrofitted for gas.  The fireplaces in those units are for ambiance, not heating.  Obviously, his recomendation was ignored.  On the day of the fire, he looked over from his current home and saw what he thought was a lot of smoke coming out of the chimney. He jumped in his car and drove over to inspect.  The left unit was in the process of becoming engulfed in flames.  With the prevailing wind and the end unit in flames...the rest of the wooden structure didn't stand a chance.  I viewed video of the event all the way through to the end when the last chimney falls into the roiling inferno.