Firemen Put Out Blaze That Sparks in Pottery Workshop

A fire at Gray Legacy Services south of La Grange damaged a pottery workshop Monday afternoon, July 20.

La Grange Volunteer Fire Department got the call around 4:30 p.m. Gray Legacy Services, located on the Bluff at 2004 S. US 77, provides care to adults with developmental disabilities. Owner Ken Gray said no clients were in the building at the time, and all employees escaped unharmed.

“Had it happened an hour earlier, there would have been people in there,” Gray said.

The employees discovered the fire and tried putting it out with a fire extinguisher, but they were unsuccessful. La Grange Volunteer Fire Department arrived with an engine and tanker. They quickly extinguished the fire, which was contained to the pottery workshop. The rest of the building suffered some smoke damage. Gray said he was thankful that the office and records were unharmed.

“The pottery is going to be shut down,” he said. “But it’s not going to stop us. Things just might look a little bit different.”

According to a report from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, the fire is believed to have started from an exhaust fan. La Grange Volunteer Fire Department requested mutual aid from the Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department, which sent one fire truck and a crew to assist. Deputies Wesley Arrison and Joe Gonzales of the Sheriff’s Office responded as well, along with medics from Fayette County EMS. A City of La Grange Electrical Department crew responded to shut off power to the building.