Goodin’s storage building burns

A storage building on former Santa Rosa County commissioner Gordon Goodin’s business property caught fire Aug. 23, only 24 hours after firefighters responded to a pit fire on the same property.

Firefighters were called to Goodin’s property at 2:20 a.m. Aug. 22 to put out a large-scale brush fire located in a natural debris pit. While firefighters quickly had the fire under control, it smoked for several more days.

Holley-Navarre Fire Chief Ron Norton said a small storage building nearby on Goodin’s property caught fire about 5 a.m. Aug. 23.

“That was probably the result of embers being blown from the pit fire,” he said.

Norton asked Goodin what was contained in the storage building and the value of the contents lost in the fire.

He said Goodin claimed the building contained archived paperwork and old equipment.

“He told me it was just junk,” Norton said.

Norton said the pit fire was believed to have started the previous weekend due to some hot spots and continued to burn until Aug. 25.

“I just drove by there an hour ago and it was completely out,” he said Friday morning. Arson was not suspected and a fire marshal was not called to investigate either fire.