Firefighters from five area departments responded to a blaze Friday at a Bourbon County manufacturing shop.

It was a total loss for CWF Products, 5901 Stewart Road, near the Bourbon-Fayette County line.

"It was pretty much fully involved by the time we arrived," said Capt. Shane Dailey of Bourbon County Fire & Rescue. "The smoke was visible from Paris city limits."

The fire started shortly after 8:30 a.m. and destroyed the 30-by-40 building.

Owner Chuck Frysinger said he was in the building, which is located behind his house, but could not get a water hose on the fire.

The company manufactures specialty license plates, including those for the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. A CO2 laser engraving machine was the origin of the fire, Frysinger said.

"It started just as a small fire," he said. "It was burning underneath in a pan and it got down in that exhaust pipe, and ... it just acted like a blowtorch that ignited everything. It filled up with smoke within a matter of minutes where I couldn't even see."

Frysinger said he intends to rebuild. "We're going to try to get everything back up and going as quick as possible," he said.

Fire departments from Paris, Bourbon County, Hutchison, Clintonville and Lexington responded to the fire. There were no injuries.

Greg Kocher: (859) 231-3305. Twitter: @HLpublicsafety