The state fire marshal's office has been asked to investigate a Tuesday fire that gutted a Jane Lew facility and forced traffic to be rerouted off of U.S. 19 most of the morning.

Soward's Oil Field Service Shop was fully engulfed by flames, some of which were shooting an estimated 50 feet into the sky, when firefighters from Jane Lew, Lost Creek and Jackson's Mill arrived on scene shortly before 6 a.m. It took firefighters nearly three hours to bring the flames under control.

The fire caused about $500,000 in damages to the equipment stored inside the building located on Main Street in Jane Lew. An adjacent building, All Service Realty, was also damaged by the flames.

Because of the chemicals stored in and around the building, firefighters were forced to build dams around two large tanks and several other containers. Hefner Environmental pumped out the chemicals and also assisted with the cleanup of the site.