tool name

Friday, Jul. 18, 2008

Firefighter hit by heat exhaustion hospitalized

Hundreds flee area where store burns

People used shirt collars as shields from smoke, wiped away sweat and tried not to breathe the filthy air.

Heavy smoke poured into the sky while a store near Jefferson and West Second streets burned Thursday. The dark smoke was visible for miles, and the news about the blaze quickly spread throughout the city.

Hundreds of people left their homes after Mayor Jim Newberry issued an evacuation order about 10:45 a.m., about an hour after reports of the fire at Star Light & Magic, an online theater and stage special-effects supply store.

All that was left of the building after the fire was extinguished were its brick walls. The inside was in ruins.

The evacuation area included the blocks bounded by West Third and West Second streets and extending west to Old Georgetown Street and east to Miller Street, including Jefferson and Maryland streets. Many of those who were evacuated were given shelter at the Salvation Army post, 736 West Main Street.

The evacuation order was lifted about 1 p.m.

One firefighter, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital for heat exhaustion, Fire Chief Robert Hendricks said during a news conference Thursday afternoon. He was expected to be all right.

At least one of the owner's dogs died in the fire.

No serious injuries reported

No other serious injuries were reported.

Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire.

Hendricks said he doesn't know what was inside the building. But he assumed from the nature of the business that pyrotechnics and show items were kept there. Inspectors did not find anything that was not supposed to be in the building, Hendricks said.

Lexington firefighters extinguished a small fire at a metal storage unit that contained flammable materials owned by Star Light & Magic on July 8. The cause of that fire is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

An employee of the supply store, Wendy Wheeler Mullins, said no pyrotechnics were kept at the site, but there were some flammable objects there. She said black lights, black light paint, snow machines and confetti accounted for most of the sales. Pyrotechnics were about 10 percent of sales, and they were shipped to customers directly from the manufacturer.

“It's a very small business, and that's what's so sad,” said Mullins, who said she has worked there part-time as a bookkeeper about four years.

She said the owner, Remy Simpson, an animal lover, searched the area Thursday looking for dogs and cats he kept at Star Light & Magic. Simpson declined to comment.

Hendricks said two dogs were rescued, but at least one died.

At Thursday's news conference, Newberry thanked Salvation Army workers who were at the fire handing out water, LexTran drivers who were on standby to assist in evacuations, Lexington police officers who directed traffic and the firefighters. More than 65 Lexington firefighters — some of whom were off-duty — responded to the business, a one-story brick facility at 218 Jefferson Street.

The call was dispatched at 9:42 a.m., fire officials said.

Kyle Roy, who works in an office next door to Star Light & Magic, said he saw the flames and ran to a fire station down the street. He started pounding on the windows, but no one answered.

“I was scared,” Roy said.

Those firefighters were on another call, Hendricks said.

Crews arrived at the business three minutes later, and firefighters started battling the blaze from inside the structure.

At 9:56 a.m., firefighters were ordered out of the building because it was too dangerous. They poured water on the fire, a two-alarm blaze, from the outside as a throng of area residents watched. Explosions that sounded like fireworks going off were heard repeatedly.

‘It looked like fog'

“It looked like fog,” said Charlie Hafley, who lives in an apartment on Maryland Avenue, off Jefferson Street. He saw the smoke from a window.

Nancy Knudsen, who lives in the same complex, said she was concerned about her apartment smelling like smoke. Knudsen said she was also worried because there were people in the building who have breathing problems.

Hendricks said Kentucky Utilities shut down the electrical transmission lines at buildings near the fire. City officials said about 55 KU customers ­— including Knudsen — were without power.

“This was a very stubborn fire that took a long time to extinguish,” Hendricks said.

Lexington police Chief Ronnie Bastin praised the firefighters' response. Twenty-six police officers helped manage traffic and evacuate residents.

“But the people who had the difficult job today, under some very trying circumstances, were our brothers at the fire department,” Bastin said. “And from my view they did an outstanding job.”