March 18--The Georgia state fire marshal is investigating a fire that caused major damage to Daehan Solutions in West Point early Saturday. The fire already has affected Kia production. Kia announced Saturday the plant would be closed Monday and Tuesday.
A cause and total amount of the damage have yet to be determined, although Fire Chief Milton Smith said the damage was "major." Mayor Drew Ferguson IV, who was on scene Saturday morning, reported half the building had been destroyed.
The initial call came in at 5 a.m. and firefighters from West Point, Lanett, Ala., and Harris County, along with the Harris County Emergency Management office and sheriff's office, responded. A skeleton crew of about 30 employees was in the building, but everyone made it out safely and no one was injured.
"There were no injuries and no fatalities," Smith said. "That is a blessing.
The sheriff's office wasn't letting anyone past the entrance to the Northwest Harris Business Park, where the Kia supplier is located, on Saturday or Sunday. Smoke was still visible over the tree tops from the plant, about a half-mile down the road, at 1 p.m. Saturday.
According to West Point City Manager Ed Moon, who was also at the scene over the weekend, the first firefighters saw visible fire through the roof of the building.
"When I arrived on the scene there were approximately 50 firefighters and a dozen fire trucks," Moon said. "The fire was being fought in a defensive mode, ladder truck large streams and interior and exterior streams from hand lines located in the expansion portion of the building. The fire was contained to the original portion of the building which is about 140,000 square feet."
The city issued a demolition permit Sunday so the Daehan Solutions contractor can begin to stabilize the building and prepare to begin to remove debris and equipment.
Daehan has about 300 employees and makes sound insulation and headliners for Kia Motors. Daehan has its facility on 30 acres in the business park. The building was built at a cost of $36.9 million.
Copyright 2012 - LaGrange Daily News, Ga.
