(Publisher’s Note: It was near this time exactly one year ago when hundreds of people attending a New Year’s Eve Party at Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack witnessed something no one had ever seen before. The Wheeling Island Exposition Hall went up in flames and burned for hours and the building smoldered for days. The remnants remain today.)
UPDATE No. 3:
Crews of the Wheeling Fire Department are set to spend the evening on Wheeling Island to make sure hot spots at the destroyed Exposition Hall do not ignite and endanger power lines in the area of the building. The structure is a total loss.
UPDATE No. 2:
All companies of the Wheeling Fire Department now are working to extinguished the fire destroying the Exposition Hall on Wheeling Island, and it is expected first responders will be on site all night long. AEP employees are working in cooperation with the fire department so ensure the safety of those attending New Year’s Eve events at Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack.
Rescue 1 unit members and medical personnel are on scene in case of injuries.
UPDATE No. 1:
Firefighters of the Wheeling Fire Department are on scene at the Exposition Hall on Wheeling Island, a building constructed in 1924 for the West Virginia State Fair, was being used by Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack for storage of files and other items, according to representative Carrie Scanlon.
The blaze, according to scanner communication between the first responders and the Ohio County 911 Dispatch Center, remains fully involved and will involve several more hours before being extinguished. The structure’s roof already has collapsed, according to firefighters.
Barricades are being set up now to limit traffic in the area. The Expo Hall is located on property owned by Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack, and is across the street from Wheeling Island Stadium.
The Expo Hall once housed the Wheeling Island Skating Rink.
