Demopolis firemen contained a fire which began Thursday morning in the Rosenbush Furniture warehouse in downtown Demopolis.

The fire department got the call at 11:08 a.m. and arrived on the scene at 11:11, said Assistant Fire Chief Joey Morgan.

It took 25 minutes to get the fire under control, he said. Ten firemen were on the site along with help from Demopolis Police Officer Paul Foster and other city personnel.

The firemen stayed at the scene an hour after getting the situation under control, still dealing with hot spots.

When the firefighters first arrived, "there was heavy smoke coming out of the rear of the building," Morgan said.

…The building has a sprinkler system in it, which Mr. (Bert) Rosenbush has always maintained," he said."

The fire actually began in a short in the electrical wiring above the sprinkler system. "That building has a roof that extends (about a foot) over the sprinkler system," Morgan said. "That’s where a lot of the burning was taking place."

Fire officials checked all the windows immediately and could tell the heat was from above. "We’re pretty familar with those buildings because we do pre-fire plans on them and check them out from time to time," he said.

The fire department also used a thermal imaging or infrared device to help detect where the fire originated. Ten minutes into the fire, a firefighter was sent in with a helmet that contains the device.

The Rosenbush warehouse sustained an estimated $5,500 in damage.