W.D. Bryant reopening Corbin storefront Wednesday

Less than a week after W.D. Bryant and Sons in Corbin was damaged by fire, the store has reopened.

Employees were back inside the building on South Main Street Monday working to clean up the damage and had the mower shop area open for business Tuesday.

Store officials said fire investigators had released most of the remainder of the store Tuesday and cleanup had begun with the goal of opening the main storefront today.

“There will still be certain sections roped off,” said Kellene Turner, a spokesperson for the store.

“Our employees will be able to run and get items off of the shelf.”

Turner said the store would be open 8 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Darren Bryant, who co-owns the store along with his cousins Lee and William and their partner, Jeff Earnest, said the immediate goal is to be able to serve the customers once again.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” Darren Bryant said of the store when employees were able to get back inside and begin cleanup.

Darren Bryant credited the Corbin Fire Department for the quick response to the scene Friday and work to extinguish the blaze.

Firefighters were called to the scene at approximately 11:45 a.m. in response to reports of an explosion at the store.

Witnesses reported hearing multiple explosions in a storage area at the back of the building containing paint and other chemicals.

Firefighters said the blaze got up into the drop ceiling, forcing them to pull down sections to ensure the fire was extinguished.

Corbin Fire Lt. Eric Philpot, the department’s fire investigator, said he is continuing to work with the ATF’s fire investigator and the insurance company to determine a cause of the fire.

“Right now we are not ruling anything out,” Philpot said.

While ATF remains involved in the investigation, Philpot said there was no evidence of an incendiary device found at the scene.

Early Friday morning, an incendiary device started a fire outside Tractor Supply in Williamsburg, but the two blazes were not believed to be connected.

“The ATF investigator deals with commercial business fires as well,” Philpot said noting ATF was involved in the investigation of the fire that damaged the Corbin Ice House in 2013.