The control box for an air compressor may be to blame for the fire that destroyed the offices at Rod Hatfield’s used car lot Wednesday morning.
Winchester Fire-EMS Maj. Greg Beam said it appeared the fire started in a garage bay used for cleaning autos located behind the offices. There was a vehicle parked in that bay that received heavy damage.
Most of the buildings on the property, including the offices, the detail bay and another four-bay garage received heavy fire damage and may have to be demolished, Beam said.
At this point, foul play is not suspected, he said.
Investigators spent much of Wednesday on the scene. An accelerant-detecting dog from the Scott County Fire Department was brought in to go through the scene with investigators from Winchester Fire-EMS.
Beam said it was hard to tell how long the fire had been burning before it was reported at 5:02 a.m. Wednesday. When firefighters arrived, part of the roof over the offices had already collapsed and the fire was burning heavily. Firefighters could only fight the fire from outside because the building was so unstable, officials said.
Though the buildings suffered heavy damage, only a couple of the vehicles on the lot suffered any damage from the fire.
Firefighters from both Winchester and Clark County responded to the fire and a third alarm assignment was called in from Lexington to cover the county.
Contact Fred Petke at fpetke@winchestersun.com.
