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A fire broke out in the roof of the service area at Van Cleve Motors Inc. in Morton on Saturday morning, Nov. 30.
It caused minor damage to the roof’s structure that will require repairs, according to owner Jim Van Cleve, who spoke with The Chronicle on Monday, Dec. 2.
“It’s not confirmed yet, but I suspect it started around our waste oil heater chimney that goes through the roof,” Van Cleve said.
Along with damaging the roof, it also knocked out power and phone lines to the dealership. However, the fire was quickly reported and extinguished, saving the majority of the structure, and no injuries were reported.
Lewis County Fire District 4 is less than half a mile down the street from Van Cleve Motors, also on Second Street in Morton.
While the dealership does have insurance to pay for the repair work, Van Cleve said the business will be temporarily closed until repairs are completed.
“We don’t know for sure how long. I’m hoping that we can be up and running within a week to 10 days,” Van Cleve said.
The dealership also posted a statement on its Facebook page on Monday.
“Good morning Van Cleve family, we did have a fire in the shop over the weekend. Thanks to our local fire departments they were able to put the fire out quickly,” the post stated. “However, we currently do not have power or phones. Please feel free to reach out to James, Jennifer, or Maria, you can also reach out here (on Facebook). We will assist you to the best of our abilities.”
Formerly known as Van Cleve Ford Inc., Van Cleve Motors has been a staple for both buying and servicing vehicles in Morton ever since Van Cleve’s father opened the business in 1953.
Van Cleve himself has worked at his family’s dealership ever since he was 12 years old in 1965.
He previously told The Chronicle in a feature story earlier this year he is “semi-retiring” and preparing to pass the business off to his son and daughter-in-law — James and Jennifer Van Cleve.
He said there had been a Ford dealership in Morton prior to 1953, but it burned down sometime in the late 1940s and the old owners never rebuilt it, though he didn’t know the exact date of that fire.
Earlier this year, the Van Cleve family mutually agreed to part ways with the Ford Motor Company, prompting the name change.
To learn more about Van Cleve Motors, read The Chronicle’s story at https://tinyurl.com/2w2ec4jp.
Van Cleve Motors is located at 302 Second St. in Morton.
To contact the business, visit https://tinyurl.com/bdz9b7a4.
