Air compressor possible cause of fire at Forest Products in Gray

Firefighters are looking at an air compressor as the possible cause of a fire Monday at Forest Products in Gray.

The fire damaged a shed housing milling equipment and the machinery inside.

"The guys in there said they heard an explosion where the air compressor is located," said West Knox Fire Chief Daryl Baker, who was among the first firefighters on scene.

Baker said firefighters were called to the scene about 8:05 a.m.

"About half of the shed was fully envolved," Baker said.

Firefighters from six other departments including: Bailey Switch, Campground, Corbin, Keavy, Lily and Woodbine brought trucks and equipment in response to calls for assistance.

While firefighters had the flames knocked down in about an hour, Baker said the fire had spread to piles of sawdust in and around the shed. Sawmill workers used bulldozers to help firefighters get into the piles so they could extinguish the fires.

"Some of that sawdust is piled 20-feet deep," Baker noted.

Firefighters were on scene until about 1:30 p.m. Baker said the strong winds Monday morning blew embers across the area, igniting multiple piles of sawdust and wood chips.

John Smith, a spokesperson for the company, said the morning shift had just begun when the fire started. There were six or seven men working in the building at the time. None of them were injured

The mill damaged in the fire is one of two operating at the site. The other mill was not affected.

This marks the second time firefighters have been called to Forest Products this year.

"A few months back one of their dozers caught fire," Baker said.

Baker said previously that firefighters were called to two separate fires at the site in 2010.

The first involved a pile of wood chips and sawdust that caught fire.

The second occurred when a spark from a welding operation ignited a loaded wood kiln.

As with Monday’s fire, firefighters from multiple departments responded to control the blaze.

Smith said the company has been at the site on Ky. 233 under the Forest Products name since 1967