Possibility of demolition for State Street building is up in the air

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Downtown building on State Street that burned last Friday has an uncertain fate.

According to Code Compliance Neighborhood and Community Services Officer Brad Schargorodski the Bowling Green Fire Department used nearly three-million gallons of water while fighting the fire. This puts a tremendous amount of weight on the structure which can adds to the complex nature of whether or not the building is truly safe. It is an old building which was built long before unified codes were in place, which can both add to or detract from the integrity of the structure.

As far as State Street being closed, it seems that at least for the near future, until the investigation is over, the left lane will remain closed out of an abundance of caution in case the structure collapses on its own.

No official cause has been released at this time and the investigation into the initial cause of the fire remains ongoing.

“You have buildings in between other buildings that may need demolition or may be able to be saved. And so that makes it a unique situation where we’re trying to both work expediently to reopen traffic and reopen the sidewalk, but at the same time, make sure that property owners and investigators have the ability to  look at the structures and make the determinations that they need,” Schargorodski said.