Stockyards fire ruled accidental; facility looking at several ‘intriguing properties’ to rebuild

Feb. 12--A construction worker using a saw on a roof at Blue Grass Stockyards started the huge Jan. 30 blaze that destroyed it and several nearby businesses, fire officials said Friday.

The fire was accidental, but the investigation continues, according to the Lexington Fire Department.

Meanwhile, Jim Akers, chief operating officer for the stockyards, said the company is being wooed by other communities hoping to attract the business from Lexington.

"We've got a multitude of very intriguing properties that are being looked at by the ownership right now within and outside of Fayette County," Akers said. "...We have been approached by somebody at every exit off I-64 from Morehead to Shelbyville and most of the exits from Lexington to E'town, with those communities reaching out, saying, 'Please give us a look.'"

The construction worker was using a circular saw to cut metal roofing at the stockyards on Lisle Industrial Avenue, the fire department said. Sparks ignited combustible materials.

The department was assisted by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives during a two-week investigation. The site was examined along with surveillance video and digital evidence. Numerous witnesses were interviewed.

Interim chief Harold Hoskins said the fire was the largest he has handled in his 33-year career.

In addition to destroying the stockyards, the fire damaged Leak Eliminators, Viking Wholesale, Slim's Towing and more businesses.

Dewayne Hogan, owner of Slim's Towing, said competing companies have helped him since the fire. "Bluegrass Towing offered me a truck and storage and I've been running out of Metro Towing's office. Both of the big towing services have been helping me.

"At this point right now, an accident happened, life goes on and all I want is what I had, you know what I mean?" Hogan said.

The fire destroyed 184 vehicles and killed 49 head of cattle. Fire department Battalion Chief Joe Best said the number of vehicles is likely to increase before the final report is released in a couple of months.

A ballpark dollar figure of damages is not yet available. "There's nobody at this point, not even the insurance companies, that knows the final total," Best said.

"Investigators have reiterated time and again that these are preliminary findings. This isn't the final, authoritative word on anything," Best added. "They're still collecting information and trying to be very thorough and making sure that nothing is left unnoticed."

Best identified the contractor working on the roof as Dadisman Builders. There was no answer Friday at the company's Lawrenceburg office.

Akers, chief operating officer for the stockyards, who had declined to identify the contractor, said the company had "worked for us for many, many years. The replacement of the roof on that facility had been an ongoing, staged construction project over a five-plus years. ...We had been renovating the roof and putting an all-steel roof on the facility, a section at a time, for a period of years."

Firefighters responded to the fire about 2:19 p.m. More firefighters and equipment were summoned in a second alarm at 2:24 p.m. and a third alarm at 2:30 p.m. as the fire rapidly advanced through the stockyards and across Lisle. The fire was considered under control about 5:20 p.m.

Akers said he has "a tremendous amount of respect" for the work of investigators who prepared the report. "I respect their findings and I believe that their findings are going to be ultimately right at the end of the day," he said.

The stockyards company is still trying to determine what it will take to "get us back in business," he said.

Asked if the company intends to rebuild on Lisle, Akers said: "We're looking at all of our options.

" ...Do the customers need us to be there? Do they need us to be somewhere else? We've got a multitude of very intriguing properties that are being looked at by the ownership right now within and outside of Fayette County. The real question is going to be where can we most efficiently construct a facility that addresses the needs of our customer base and the changing marketplace? Where is the right spot to put that thing for the future?"

Five of the 10 shareholders in Blue Grass Stockyards own a little more than 100 acres near the Kentucky Horse Park at the Interstate 75 interchange with Ironworks Pike. The stockyards had considered that site 10 years ago during a relocation effort, but it drew opposition from neighbors.

"Obviously you'd be crazy not to consider that location," Akers said. "It's a good spot."

Ease of access for farmers transporting livestock is a consideration for a stockyards site, Akers said. Cost and geography are other considerations, he said.

Lexington has been a regional livestock hub with customers coming from as far way as West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee as well as Kentucky, Akers said. "Some of our largest customers are over 100 miles away," he said.

"There is obviously a strong, strong pull internally within the company to remain in Fayette County. I mean, that's our heritage," he said.

"We have been approached by somebody at every exit off I-64 from Morehead to Shelbyville and most of the exits on the Blue Grass Parkway from Lexington to E'town, with those communities reaching out, saying, 'Please give us a look. We've got property that would work. We're rural counties. It'll be easier and cheaper for you to build here.' We're just trying to be really completely open-minded and look at what the customers need us to do, where do they need us to be. ...We're being courted pretty heavily."

Asked if Midway, where the stockyards had also considered relocating 10 years ago, was still a possibility, Akers said, "Well, you know, I haven't had a phone call from them."

Akers said Lexington officials and Mayor Jim Gray recognize the economic significance of the business. "I don't think they want to see that business leave Fayette County. They've made it very clear they're going to try to work with us in any way they possibly can to help us make that decision to stay in their county, just like all these other municipalities are saying 'Come to us.'"

Gray said Friday the city "is doing everything we can to keep the stockyards here in Lexington."

"We've met with the company and with state officials," the mayor said. "The stockyards are important to our agriculture community and to our overall economy. And they are part of our history ... they have called Lexington home for 70 years."

The stockyards employed 56 people and did $200 million a year in sales, Akers said.

He said he hopes "within the next week to 10 days" to publicly say "here's our location."

Greg Kocher: 859-231-3305, @HLpublicsafety

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