January 5th, 2023
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
A fire that started in a strip mall early morning Wednesday, December 21st, drew more than 50 firefighters and a dozen firefighting apparatuses to the scene in a neighborhood in Louisville, KY. The strip mall consisted of a bakery, a barber shop, and a restaurant. They are all now total losses.
Firefighters were dispatched at 4:04 a.m. to the Russell neighborhood facility. By the time the firefighters arrived, flames were coming out of several store fronts and coming through the wood roof. These fire conditions showed the roof could easily collapse, so firefighters went into a defensive operation. An investigator said the blaze had started somewhere in the center of the building.
Firefighters doused the building with hose streams totaling more than 1,000 gallons per minute. Due to frigid temperatures, the water runoff quickly turned to ice. Fire Lt. Col. Jason Golladay said firefighters would be on the scene throughout the day investigating and putting out any hot spots – smaller fires underneath debris – that may pop up after extinguishing the initial fire.
Arson investigators were on the scene, along with Louisville Gas & Electric personnel and Emergency Medical Services officials.
Arson investigators are working to determine what caused the fire to start. Available evidence is limited to witness statements and surveillance footage from the area because it is still too dangerous for them to get inside.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has an article detailing “Special Provisions for Mall Structures” as required to meet NFPA 101, Life Safety Code.
A Risk Logic property loss prevention inspection can help to prevent a fire at your facility. Risk Logic offers Property Lite inspections for commercial buildings such as strip malls, apartment buildings, schools, office buildings, religious buildings, and more occupancies. Our consultants are able to survey any size commercial property. All of this is streamlined into a cost-effective, concise Property Lite inspection report. Please contact Risk Logic for fire and property loss prevention inspections for your buildings.