Fire destroyed a building in the Willow Oak Industrial Park at Cobbs Creek on Monday, also wiping out all the equipment and supplies of a contracting business that was renting the structure.

Mathews Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ronnie Lewis said that fire crews were on the scene of the fire at Bayside Joinery just six minutes after dispatchers received the call at 12:55 p.m. They reported smoke showing and attempted to make an interior attack, he said, but when they opened the main entry and saw the amount of fire, they had to back out.

“It was too large for an interior operation,” Lewis said, “so the operation turned defensive.”

Large amounts of wood and building supplies such as finishing materials were being stored at the site, he said, so “the fire load was quite high.”

The fire had ventilated itself by burning through a set of garage doors, allowing the wind to drive through and fan the flames, said Lewis. With staffing at the fire depart...