LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – Firefighters continue to work around the clock to monitor hotspots at Louisville's Whiskey Row. Fire crews responded to a fire at the historic building shortly after 4:30 p.m. Monday.
Louisville Fire Department Capt. Sal Melendez said it appeared the fire started in the basement. The basement and first level were engulfed in flames when crews arrived.
Some of the first responding firefighters attempted to enter the building upon arrival, but they were forced to retreat after an explosion. Fire Chief Greg Frederick said the explosion could have been caused by a propane or settling tank.
"When it exploded there was a fireball but it kept coming at them," Frederick described. "They actually had to withdrawal and they could hear a loud noise like it was pressurized. So, initially they thought it was a gas-fed fire. We're looking at that but if the gas was shut off it could have been something else."
The structure was last known to be secure around 3 p.m. Monday when a crew that was doing renovation work at the building left the property. Officials said the nature of that work would be a focal point of their investigation. Neither fire officials nor people associated with Whiskey Row have been able to detail what type of work was being done on the building or what kinds of tools were being used.
"We had some contractors in here doing some prep work ... I have no idea what they were doing yesterday afternoon," Ron Carmichael of the McCall Group said, which serves as the owner's representative for the Whiskey Row Project.
The group hoped to have operating venues in Whiskey Row by September 2016. Carmichael said the project was on track to meet that goal prior to the fire.
"[We're] very disappointed. We went home last night and we didn't sleep," Carmichael said. "We were ready to release all the construction drawings for pricing, that's how close we were on this."
Despite the setback, Carmichael said his team felt inspired by the outpouring of support from the community in the hours after the fire.
"I think the community is still looking at us to try to finish the job so we're going to try to finish the job," Carmichael said.
There are still concerns that the building could suffer another major collapse but fire officials no longer believe the facades, which are supported by recently added steel braces, are in danger of collapsing.
Three fire units, or 12 fire fighters, will remain on-scene overnight Tuesday to monitor the building and continue to put out hotspots.
Whiskey Row co-developer Craig Greenburg sent out a statement Tuesday evening about the fire:
"Yesterday's fire at 111 Main Street on Whiskey Row was an unfortunate setback for the revitalization of West Main Street, but it will not stop our group's efforts to preserve and restore this historic block. We are very appreciative of the overwhelming support from the community – it demonstrates Louisville's strong interest in our history and our historic buildings.
Our structural engineers are on site and have begun to assess the situation, so we may plot a path to move forward.
Public safety remains our top priority. Our team's work will be guided by that priority and then our goal to preserve the facades and as much of the remaining buildings as possible.
We understand the need to re-open West Main Street to vehicular traffic and are working with local officials to safely accomplish that as soon as possible.
The Louisville Fire Department investigators are continuing their investigation into the cause of the fire and we have no further information to report on that at this time. We will provide another update later this week when we have more information to share.
And, finally, our sincerest thanks go out to the Louisville Fire Department and other first responders for their brave and skilled work in safely extinguishing the fire and saving the buildings' facades."
