Overnight fire destroys Market Street warehouse

Sept. 17--Jeff Worley, fire commander for the Lexington Fire Department, said the fire was reported at 11:48 p.m. Firefighters arrived to find flames coming from the center of the building. Worley said the flames extended about 20 feet into the air.

"The remainder of the structure had smoke coming from around the eaves," Worley said. "Fire crews deployed lines to protect an enclosed trailer, as well as an adjoining building, which housed a skid steer loader. An aerial device was also placed into service to flow large quantities of water over a broad area."

A high-voltage power line running parallel with the rear of the building fell in the later stages of the incident, Worley said. Lexington Utilities responded. While the main warehouse was a total loss, firefighters saved the enclosed trailer and the adjoining building that housed the skid steer.

No injuries were reported. Employees were not working in the building at the time of the fire, Worley confirmed.

The fire commander explained the building's occupant, Doug Yi, used the building to house general merchandise, including fabric, for DGI Imports. The building was formerly used by S&K Wholesale Warehouse. The owners of the structure are John and Gloria Cline.

No figures were available late Thursday afternoon with the LFD regarding combined property and contents damage. There was insurance on the building.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by Lexington Fire Marshal Jon David Everhart. He is being assisted by the Davidson County Fire Investigations Task Force. Investigators from the Thomasville Fire Department, Davidson County Fire Marshal's Office, Davidson County Sheriff's Office and SBI assisted Everhart on the scene throughout the day Thursday.

"We are still working on it," Everhart said late Thursday afternoon, regarding the determination of the cause.

Everhart said investigators used Thursday to dig through the scene. He explained the task force examined patterns. Everhart said it's too early to say where the fire may have started.

"We can't determine a cause until we determine a point of origin," he said. "That's where we are right now. We also got the SBI out here, so they are also assisting us now."

Everhart said the SBI and its K-9 from Raleigh were being utilized Thursday to "cover all the bases."

"We do have a dog on the way right now," he said about 4:30 p.m. "Not saying we suspect there are any liquids, but again covering our bases, having a dog to come to search to see if it hits on any areas that could possibly have an ignitable liquid. We are just covering the bases since it's such a large loss."

Responding agencies were the Lexington Fire and Police departments, Davidson County EMS and Lexington Utilities. Off-duty Lexington firefighters were called into assist, Worley said.

Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or darrick.ignasiak@the-dispatch.com. Follow Darrick on Twitter: @DispatchDarrick

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