Portion of convention center catches fire in downtown Lexington, no injuries reported
Part of the Central Bank Center, which is undergoing a $300 million renovation, caught fire Thursday afternoon, with flames rising through a portion of the roof in downtown Lexington.
The Lexington Fire Department responded to the structure fire just after 1:45 p.m. and encountered moderate smoke and a small amount of flames from a portion of the convention center that was being demolished to make way for expansion, Battalion Chief Jordan Saas said.
Crews set up a ladder pipe and extinguished the fire in under 30 minutes, Saas said. There were no injuries reported, he said. Roughly 300 people were working on the site daily.
Traffic was temporarily blocked off in the area of High Street and South Broadway as crews worked the scene.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, Saas said.
Because of the fire’s location in the portion of the building being torn down, the fire didn’t cause any setbacks to the project, according to Mary Beth Wright, business development director for Messer Construction.
The company is working with the fire department to identify the fire’s origin, Wright said.
The project started in late 2018. When completed in January 2022, the new Central Bank Center will offer 100,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 25,000-square-foot ballroom, 25,000 square feet of meeting space and 50,000 square feet of hospitality space. Rupp Arena will have a new glass and metal exterior.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 2:49 PM.