‘We will rebuild.’ Lexington ice skating rink catches fire, suffers major damage
Owners pledged to rebuild the badly damaged portion of the Lexington Ice Center Tuesday after a large fire.
About 60 fire department personnel responded to the two-alarm fire Monday night at the ice skating facility on Eureka Springs Drive. The fire was upgraded to a second alarm because of the size of the building, according to Battalion Chief Jordan Saas.
Nobody was injured, but the significant damage from the fire will impact several groups who use the rink, including a youth hockey league that lost equipment and other items.
It took nearly an hour and a half for firefighters to knock down the fire after being dispatched at 6:19 p.m., Saas said. The fire had a “head start” because it had built up so much before personnel were dispatched, Saas said. The damage to the building was “significant,” he said.
No civilians were injured, but one firefighter was evaluated for heat exhaustion, Saas said. That firefighter didn’t have to go to a hospital.
In a Facebook post, the Lexington Ice Center’s owners said that the fire caused damage to the facility’s second ice rink. The owners said they didn’t know what caused the fire.
“We’re very thankful no one was hurt or inside of the building when it happened,” they said in the social media post. “We have been through tragedy before, and just as before, we will rebuild.”
The owners had to rebuild after a storm in the 1980s, according to WKYT, the Herald-Leader’s reporting partner.
Paul Adelfio, the Lexington Amateur Ice Hockey Association commissioner, said a lot was lost in the fire. The Lexington Amateur Ice Hockey Association used the damaged ice rink for its competitions.
The youth hockey program lost championship banners, trophies and ribbons stored in a trophy case in the rink’s lobby, Adelfio said. A large amount of youth equipment was lost, too, along with other gear and an LED scoreboard.
“I have been involved with youth hockey, high school hockey, and amateur hockey for over 20 years, and I know how tight the hockey community is,” Adelfio said. “We will band together to replace lost gear and equipment and come back stronger.”
Adelfio, the hockey commissioner, also said the loss of a rink will “crunch all of our hockey activities into one rink.”
The damage will affect the Central Kentucky Hockey Association, the Lexington Amateur Ice Hockey Association, Eastern Kentucky University hockey, University of Kentucky hockey, high school hockey and the Thoroughbred Figure Skating Club, Adelfio said.
“Ice time with two rinks has always been tight when hockey season is in full swing, so it will be extremely challenging now to make sure all programs get the needed time to practice and play,” he said.
The Lexington Ice Center’s Facebook post said the main ice rink and the mini-golf courses weren’t damaged. Lexington Ice Center owners thanked the Lexington Fire Department for doing a “wonderful job at every aspect” of fighting the fire.
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 7:51 AM.