Massive Blaze Destroys Five Lexington Businesses

The cause of a Saturday fire that destroyed or damages five businesses including the Bluegrass Stockyards was still under investigation Sunday as fire crews continued working on the site of one largest fires in Lexington’s history.

“The investigation is still ongoing, there are a number of people who need to be interviewed. We want to be thorough,” said Lexington Battalion Chief Joe Best.

Lexington fire officials also warned residents with chronic respiratory problems near the site of the fire on Lisle Industrial Avenue and South Forbes Road to remain indoors. Air quality monitoring on Sunday showed slightly elevated levels of fine solids, which can cause problems for people with emphysema or a history of pneumonia.

Lexington Interim Fire Chief Harold Hoskins said Sunday fire crews anticipate being on the site for several more days. Air quality testing will also continue, fire officials said.

“These levels are what we would expect to find after a fire this size,” said Hoskins. “When the wind picks up, we get an increase in the amount of smoke being generated. We want people with breathing problems to take extra precautions as work to put the rest of the fires out.”

The fire department also asked all people to remain out of the area around South Forbes. On Sunday, fire crews continued to monitor the site, spraying water on still-smoking debris. But the area became congested with so many people trying to get closer to the site.

In addition to the Bluegrass Stockyards, other nearby businesses known to have been damaged or destroyed included Johnson Landscaping Materials, 167 South Forbes Road; Viking Wholesale, 154 South Forbes Road; Leak Eliminators, 1064 Manchester Street; and Slim’s Towing, 336 Lisle Industrial Ave., where many cars burned, fire officials said.

The cost of the damage caused by the fire remains unknown, but it’s likely it will be several million dollars, fire officials said.

People near the scene on Saturday described a huge smoke plume and the sound of explosions shortly after 2 p.m.. Those explosions may have been gas tanks of vehicles at Slim’s Towing, fire officials have said. Witnesses also said the fire spread quickly.

Best said the fast-moving fire spread quickly due to high winds on Saturday. More than 120 firefighters battled the blaze that began around 2 p.m. and was contained by 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

One bright spot —an historic two-story stone building built by one of Lexington’s founding fathers was untouched by the fire. The home, built by William McConnell in 1780, has been used by the Bluegrass Stockyards as an office. That house and brother James McConnell’s home on Manchester Street have been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984, said Betty Kerr, the city’s historic preservation officer.

“There was a utility pole that was right next to it that caught fire,” Best said. “And buildings that were much farther away were destroyed. The chances that that building is still standing — it didn’t even get a spark on it — is miraculous.”

Kerr went to the site late Saturday after the fire was contained. Everything around the stone building had been destroyed, Kerr said.

“It’s just amazing that building survived,” Kerr said.

Beth Musgrave: ,

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