Beth Musgrave
The Lexington Herald-Leader
BLUEGRASS STATION, Ky. — A manufacturing facility for spray-on insulation and fire-proofing materials was destroyed Saturday night in a fire at Bluegrass Station on Briar Hill Road near the Fayette-Bourbon county line.
Fire officials think no one was in the ThermoSpray building at the time of the fire.
personnel at Bluegrass Station, a state-owned property that leases buildings to several businesses, noticed smoke coming from the aluminum-sided building shortly after 7 p.m. Firefighters from Fayette and Clark counties battled the fire for more than two hours.
Bluegrass Station in Avon, which used to be known as the Blue Grass Army Depot (Lexington Activity), is different from the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, where chemical weapons are stored.
Lexington Fire Chief Robert Hendricks said that when crews arrived, the fire had already poked through the roof, which eventually collapsed. One firefighter suffered minor burns.
“The building is a total loss,” Hendricks said. He said none of the surrounding businesses had to be evacuated.
The owner of ThermoSpray was on site Saturday but declined to comment through the fire department. It is unclear how many people worked at the facility. According to ThermoSpray’s Web site, the company has been in business for more than 20 years. It specialized in fire-proofing and fire-stopping products.
Richard Peddicord of the state fire marshal’s office said it was too early to know the cause of the fire.
But Bluegrass Station officials said they thought the fire and a collision between a truck and a train earlier Saturday afternoon were not related. An 18-year-old Kentucky man was hurt when his truck was struck by a CSX train on land adjacent to Bluegrass Station. Kentucky Utility crews were inspecting power lines shortly after the accident.
ThermoSpray has rented the building at Bluegrass Station for more than five years, Bluegrass Station officials said.