Mattress factory owner says kerosene heater likely sparked weekend fire

The owner of an Akron mattress factory destroyed by fire over the weekend said mattresses falling on a kerosene heater might have sparked the blaze.

"Within seconds, the whole place was on fire," Akron Mattress Manufacturing owner Rich Cook said Monday while surveying the damage.

Akron Mattress made mattresses for high-end furniture stores at the building, located at 601 E. Exchange St. near the University of Akron campus.

Cook said three workers were in the building when it caught fire Saturday, creating a black plume of smoke visible for miles. His workers told him that the fire started when a stack of mattresses fell on a kerosene heater.

"When it started, they threw buckets of water at it, but it went up like gasoline," Cook said.

Workers alerted the Akron Fire Department and left the building. Firefighters responded at 11:25 a.m. Saturday, and the fire was declared out just after 2 p.m.

"I'm very happy everybody got out alive, and that nobody got hurt," Cook said.

Akron fire Lt. Sierjie Lash said the building is a total loss, and that there aren't any updates on the investigation.

She said the building is still full of material that can catch fire, and there were flare ups Sunday and Monday morning.

"Until the building is cleared out, it has a lot of fire load in it that can creep back up," she said.

Many of the building's contents, along with the building itself, are not salvageable.

"I don't think anything can be used," said Manuel Nemer, the owner of the building.

Nemer said the building likely will be demolished and, hopefully, redeveloped. The building sits on two parcels, which he said he may sell, but he has no plans as of now.

He said it's a big loss for him and Cook.

Cook said everything in the building, including three $25,000 sewing machines, were lost. He said he lost about $250,000 due to the fire.

Nemer and Cook both said they didn't have insurance. Cook said they couldn't get insurance on the building because it lacked a sprinkler system.

The building was the only location for the mattress business. Cook said he is assessing the damage and he's not sure about his next step.

Reach Sean McDonnell at smcdonnell@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3186

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