By: Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County TimesThe R&D Railroad Construction building, located on KY 174 just south of US 60 and on the west side of the road, was lost in a fire overnight on Friday and into Saturday morning. The building was completely consumed by the blaze, the remains of which were still smoking on Sunday afternoon. The smoke rose in faint wisps behind the brick pillars of the façade, the only portion of the structure remaining, as cars slowed to survey the scene.
Olive Hill fire chief Jeremy Rodgers said the initial call came in just after midnight on Saturday morning, at 12:22 a.m.
He noted on social media that “79 emergency and support personnel, from 11 departments, in three counties” responded to help keep the fire contained and the community safe. He expanded this number later, noting via text message that the total number of agencies responding included 10 different fire departments from Carter, Rowan, and Boyd counties, in addition to other assisting agencies. These other agencies included the Olive Hill Police Department, Carter County Sheriff’s Office, Carter County EMS, Olive Hill utilities, and Carter County Emergency Management.
According to Rodgers the firefighters utilized 37 different pieces of apparatus and vehicles to pump more than 143,000 gallons of water to fight the fire through the night. He said they were finally able to contain the blaze and clear the scene by 4:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, just over four hours after receiving their call.
There were no injuries in the fire. The cause of the fire has still not been determined or announced as of press time.
Calls were made to the business owners on Monday afternoon, but they were also unavailable for comment at press time.
Aerial drone photography of the fire courtesy of Justin Thornsberry and Abby Thornsberry, of Clark Hill.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
Aerial drone photography of the fire courtesy of Justin Thornsberry and Abby Thornsberry, of Clark Hill. 
Aerial drone photography of the fire courtesy of Justin Thornsberry and Abby Thornsberry, of Clark Hill. 
Aerial drone photography of the fire courtesy of Justin Thornsberry and Abby Thornsberry, of Clark Hill. 
Aerial drone photography of the fire courtesy of Justin Thornsberry and Abby Thornsberry, of Clark Hill. 
Aerial drone photography of the fire courtesy of Justin Thornsberry and Abby Thornsberry, of Clark Hill. 
Aerial drone photography of the fire courtesy of Justin Thornsberry and Abby Thornsberry, of Clark Hill.