Welding spark causes fire at Forest Products in Gray

A spark from a welding operation led to a fire that destroyed a loaded wood kiln Wednesday at Forest Products, Inc. in Gray. Just before 3 p.m., West Knox Firefighters were paged to the business on Ky. 233.

"It has been there as long as I have been alive," West Knox Fire Chief Daryl Baker said of the business.

West Knox firefighters joined at the scene by Corbin firefighters and their ladder truck, along with manpower, pumper and tanker trucks from Bailey Switch, Campground, Keavy, and Woodbine fire departments. While Corbin used its ladder truck to get on top of the fire, another crew used a portable water cannon to hit it from below.

"To tell you the truth, on a fire like this, everybody is on the same crew," an unidentified firefighter said when asked which department was manning the water cannon.

"Tankers filled up at three nearby hydrants before dumping their loads of water into a dump tank. The hydrants around here don¹t have enough pressure to pull the water we need directly from them," Baker explained. Baker said it took firefighters about two hours to knock down the flames.

Firefighters used a loader to move the stacks of lumber to get at the fire and ensure it did not spread. Just after 6 p.m., firefighters announced they had the blaze under control and were picking through the debris to ensure they had eliminated any hotspots. No one was injured in the fire. Baker said this is the second time in 2010 firefighters have been called to Forest Products.

"We had one about three or four months ago when a pile of wood chips and sawdust caught on fire," Baker said. "The employees out here are really good about controlling those kinds of fires before they turn into something big."