Press Release: City responds to building fire

{Photo: Clarence Vernon Hargrave/Davidson Local}

The Lexington Fire Department released the following update on Jan. 24 on the fire at United Furniture Plant:

On the morning of January 23, at approximately 7 a.m, the Lexington Department was alerted to a structure fire at 151 Elk St. Fire units arrived and found a heavy body of fire located on the upper floors and began an aggressive exterior fire attack, darkening down the fire. Reconnaissance operations began to remove the smoke and steam to assess the location and extent of the fire. The fire was found to be seated near the center of the structure, beyond the reach of the hose streams. Fire suppression operations consisted of a combination of large-caliber hose lines and multiple aerial trucks. Supporting the operations were the Lexington Police Department, Lexington Water Department, ElectriCities, Davidson County Fire Marshal’s Office, City of Thomasville Fire Department, Linwood Fire Department, and Miller’s Ferry Fire Department.

Battalion Chief Tyler Forrest operated as incident commander. The Lexington on-duty staff was supported by a recall of off-duty personnel to assist with suppression operations, logistics, scene safety, and staff reserve apparatus to respond to events unrelated to the structure fire.

The building was known to be in severe disrepair, with weak and sagging ceiling/floor assemblies and many holes and pitfalls. The owner had sought to demolish the building and began the initial stages of the permitting process for demolition in mid-2023. The owners have worked closely with the city of Lexington Office of Business and Community Development to secure the building.

Lexington Fire Department units continued to work overnight, extinguishing smoldering fires and hot spots. The operations continue today and intermittently over the next few days until the fire is extinguished.

The investigation into the origin and cause of the fire is in the preliminary stages and awaiting for the heat and smoke conditions to subside to determine what and how the investigation will proceed.