Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s Bowling Green office in Kentucky was engulfed in fire on Friday morning, resulting in severe damage to the commercial building housing his local office.
Fire engulfed Sen. Rand Paul’s Kentucky office overnight in Bowling Green, investigation underway
The incident, reported by the Bowling Green Daily News, prompted a swift response from the Bowling Green Fire Department, who arrived at the scene at 1:45 am. According to a department spokesperson, the building’s roof collapsed due to the intensity of the fire, causing significant structural impairment. Investigations into the cause of the blaze are underway as authorities assess the extent of the damage.
When the firefighters arrived at the scene, they were met with thick smoke and intense flames, as reported by Public Information Officer Katie McKee. Due to the severity of the situation, they requested more firefighting units.
To access the second-floor windows, they had to cut several large tree limbs blocking their way. Six units were deployed to extinguish the fire, and firefighters utilized the aerials of trucks 1 and 6 to tackle the blaze from above, according to Bowling Green Daily.
In total, 31 firefighters, excluding two deputy chiefs and Bowling Green Fire Chief Justin Brooks, rushed to respond to the incident, reported the Gateway Pundit.
McKee verified that the roof had collapsed during the fire, and she described the difficulties the firefighters encountered while trying to extinguish the blaze.
The building that caught fire housed important offices, including Senator Rand Paul’s office, the Kerrick Bachert law firm, and a well-known local business called Dezign Tees. The flames also spread to neighboring buildings in the downtown area, as reported by Bowling Greene Daily News.
As per the spokeswoman, the cause of the fire is currently being investigated.
Videos of fire shared on social media
Videos on social media showed firefighters fighting the fire until 8:30 am.
Investigation underway after Rand Paul’s Kentucky office destroyed in a fire. pic.twitter.com/BW7zPuexKr
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) July 21, 2023
BG Fire crews still on scene at a structure fire on State Street. The building housed Sen. Rand Paul’s Bg office. Traffic is being detoured. Cause unknown as of 8:30 this morning. More to come. pic.twitter.com/6CoTdgBxH5
— Will Whaley (@Will_Whaley_) July 21, 2023
“We are thankful for the Bowling Green first responders who arrived quickly to the scene to put out,” Sen. Paul said in a statement to BG Daily News.
Paul also showed gratitude for the first responder who continued to work with authorities to assess damages and to determine the cause of the fire.
“We have a very well established emergency management plan and have the ability to continue operations that will not impact our work helping Kentuckians,” the senator told Daily Caller.
