Calls came in just after 4 p.m. that the Cox building, built in 1886, was on fire.
At approximately 6:50 p.m., calls of "mayday, mayday, firefighter down" came over the police scanner in Mason County.
"Someone get the ambulance up here," said someone over the scanner.
Officials at the scene identified the firefighter as Kevin Doyle, who was injured when a section of the third floor ceiling collapsed as he and six other Maysville Fire Department firefighters were inspecting the building. Initial reports indicate Doyle may have sustained a broken collarbone.
The scene of rolling smoke from the windows of the building and flames visible through the windows brought shock then sadness to those watching the fire.
"This is crazy!" one person standing on Market Street said, while another dialed someone on a cell phone.
"You won't believe this," the man said into his phone.
Larry Boone, a resident of lower Market Street, was sitting on a bench in downtown Maysville when he heard commotion and saw Steve and Susan White running up the street.
"I didn't know what was gong on," he said, but he followed. Turning the corner, Boone said he saw flames through the windows. Within minutes, the scene changed. The flames grew larger and the smoke rolled off faster. At one point, the smoke was so thick on Market Street the building could not be seen. Many watching from Market Street covered their mouths to avoid breathing the acrid smoke and several complained the smoke was stinging their eyes.
Not only were cell phones used for calls, but photos were snapped by many documenting the destruction of one of the most well-known buildings in Maysville.
Betty Coutant lives next door to the Cox building in what is known as Cox's Row. She said she was napping when Susan White pounded on her door, alerting her to the fire. She left the house and saw flames in a small window in the rear, southwest corner of the building.
Coutant said the fire department arrived within seconds.
"It wasn't half an hour before the whole roof was on fire," she said.
Coutant said she removed her dogs from her home when it became too hot in the house.
The fire department doused Coutant's house with water in an effort to keep it from also burning. She said there was likely smoke damage, but was grateful to have no more damage.
"Thank goodness for good neighbors," Coutant said.
Linda Ford lives a short distance from the building in a historic home. She said the possibility of a fire is one that lingers when the building is as old as the Cox building.
"I am sick," she said. "This is tragic. This is the heart of downtown, and we had such high hopes and plans to restore it and make it a vital part of the community. Now look at it."
Fifteen minutes after the fire was reported, Ford was optimistic the building might still be saved.
"Let's just hope that it's not as bad as it looks," she said. "There's always hope."
That hope dimmed as time passed. More fire departments arrived, streams of water were trained on the flames which erupted from the roof which eventually caved in.
Dr. Orloff Miller, who completed a historical survey of the building in 2007, said he saw the flames from his home about a mile away.
"You could see the flames taller than the steeples of the churches from a mile off," he said.
Maysville City Manager Ray Young said he was sickened by the scene.
The city purchased the building in Dec., 2006, for $200,000 and began immediately to make improvements to the building. The building received $2.5 million in federal funding for renovations.
Plans for the building included space for the Maysville Community and Technical College's Institute of Culinary Arts as well as possible incubator business space and studio and classroom space for Maysville's fine arts organizations.
"We were heartbroken at the news of all the destruction that had occurred," said Barb Campbell, with MCTC.
Campbell said around 7:45 p.m. that it may be possible to salvage the first and second floors and maybe even a portion of the third floor.
"All of that needs to be evaluated," she said.
Campbell said after assessing the damage, the college will regroup and determine its course of action.
Plans for the third floor were to convert it into an adjunct to the Maysville Conference Center for meeting and banquet space.
Young said at first that perhaps the damage would be contained to the top two floors, which the city had not planned to use, and the bottom three floors might be salvageable. Those comments, too, were made before the roof fell.
"We're going to lose it," he said at one point. "Three years to get here."
Young said there were workers in the building earlier in the day, but left by 3:15 p.m. He was told they had turned off the electric before they left. Young said the old electrical wiring had been torn out of the building and replaced.
"We've just lost a lot of years of work," Miller said.
Miller said in his report it was noted the role the building played in the community and the myriad of memories associated with it.
Ford said her daughters took dance lessons in the building, while Malcolm Walker, a lifetime resident of Maysville who also stood in awe of the destruction Tuesday, remembered the Kilgus Pharmacy and said his fiance once lived in an apartment in the building.
"It's a tragedy," Walker said. "That's an old, old building."
The Maysville Fire Department was assisted by the Ripley Fire Department ladder truck, Washington-Maysville Volunteer Fire Department, Maysville Police Department, Mason County Sheriff's Office and the Mason County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Kentucky Utilities and Columbia Gas were also on scene.
Republished with permission of The Ledger Independent.
