ORWELL — A landmark building, the Orwell Tire Service, was damaged heavily by fire Wednesday night as 12 neighboring volunteer fire departments worked a water shuttle operation.

A rear two-story section, used for tire storage and commercial repairs, was saved.

Orwell Fire Chief Joe Albergo said the firefighters, mostly Orwell’s company, would remain at the scene overnight as debris smoldered. Information as to the cause of the blaze was not immediately available from the chief.

A Community Care Ambulance crew driving by the business spotted smoke and called in the alarm shortly after 6 p.m. Several nearby neighbors, including Dwight Johnson, who lives across from the tire store, walked over to check on whether anyone was inside.

“All we saw was thick black smoke and flames spreading,” Johnson said. “The outside Cooper Tire sign seemed to be a hot spot on the front of the building.”

Within minutes, three Orwell Volunteer Fire Department trucks, including a ladder unit, were on the scene. Then, 12 other departments were called in immediately to give mutual aid.

“The front metal section of the business housed an office and retail customer space. It completely collapsed as the flames spread,” Johnson said. “Orwell firemen were putting water on this section. Then, just as they moved back, the metal roof came down. No one was hurt as (far as) I could see,” he said.

Crowds of townspeople began streaming to the site. With rain coming down, onlookers stood under umbrellas and were armed with cameras.

Orwell police detoured traffic at the downtown intersection of Route 45 and Route 322 and at Leffingwell Drive, just west of the fire scene. Traffic was detoured for hours as fire tankers, long lines of hoses and water holding equipment lined East Main Street and nearby sidewalks.

South Central Ambulance District rescue units remained at the scene for several hours. SCAD director Dan Koziol said they were there to treat persons for any respiratory problems from the acrid smoke. Thick plumes of smoke blew around the area, mixing with occasional raindrops.

Bristol VFD Capt. Chuck Hudak was in charge of the water shuttle operation, assisted by Bristol firefighter Jamie Loze. Tankers filled up their trucks at village hydrants along North Maple Street (Route 45), then hauled water back to the shuttle units.

Residents of a house to the west of the burning building were evacuated. One of the residents, Becky Martin, said: “We were worried because three elderly relatives were in our house. We moved them next door to Mr. Snyder’s home for safety. I don’t think any damage was done to our house,” Martin said.

Tire company manager Brad Williams watched the flames sweep through part of the building. So did former owner, Lee Covell and wife Toni. The Covells owned the landmark business for 25 years.

The structure was built in the early 1920s as a milk hauling company. Prior Cartage Co., the milk haulers, later turned the building into Prior Ford dealership, and there was a tire retread business there during the 1940s, according to Covell.

“This is hard to watch. I worked here for 46 years. We sold out to Kauffman Tire Co. and retired in 2007. It was a big part of our life,” Covell said.

Williams worked for the Covells for 15 years. After new owners took over, he has managed the business for four years.

“We’ll be open Thursday (today) for our commercial customers. The three-bay-garage portion houses our tire storage, and it was saved. That’s where the firewall and doors saved it. We do a lot of work for area farmers and commercial customers. Our road-service people will be out on calls, which will be rerouted to Ravenna,” Williams said.

Williams, also a part-time firefighter for Saybrook Township and the Jefferson Volunteer Fire Department, said: “I probably had 30 people call me as I drove down here. It’s funny; I’ve often dreaded of a fire here.”