DUBLIN, Ga. — A Dublin family is cleaning up the damage after a fire destroyed part of their business Wednesday. The fire started around 5:30 a.m. at a fertilizer packing plant on East Jackson Street.
Dublin Fire Chief Matthew Cutler said nobody was injured, and it took about five hours to completely put it out.
Jody Dukes is with Roche Farm and Gardens Inc. and said they believe it could have been a lightning strike that destroyed their plant.
"Well, you know, the weather is what it is," he said. "You got to be prepared for it. And you just gotta take what it gives you."
The fire also torched part of their other plant, which is where they mix their fertilizer. But the big loss is their packing plant.
"We're pretty sure insurance will help us with that." Dukes said. "But that building there is a total loss. It's burnt completely to the ground."
Cutler said it's one of the worst fires they've had in several years.
"Definitely one of the largest we've had in quite a while," he said. "Cause it was over a 13,000 square foot building. So that was a pretty large fire."
He said it took about 15 firefighters five hours to put it out.
"We're ruling it as a undetermined at this time, but we are looking into the possibility of a natural cause as far as a lightning strike," Cutler said.
Dukes said the building stood stood since the 1950's.
"It was probably a tinder box, because it was old, old lumber there. Something like that would cause it to go pretty quick," he said.
Dukes said it could temporarily affect their bagging operations, but they're going to find a way forward to keep packing and selling their fertilizer.
Cutler says insurance investigators are coming to town tomorrow to try to find the fire's cause.
If you have any information about what could have caused the fire, you can call the Dublin Fire Department at 478-277-5032.