LEXINGTON CO. (WSLS 10) - A local historic bed and breakfast is destroyed after a late night fire.
Owner Justin Peery tells WSLS 10 that the fire at Good Place Farms Bed and Breakfast in Lexington started at 10:30 p.m. Saturday night.
Located at 31 Crestview Lane, the business is operated out of a renovated barn built in the 1800's. The business notes the barns wooden features on it's website. Emergency Management Coordinator Robert Foresman says the old wooden makeup of the building made it especially susceptible to fire.
Foresman said it took about one hour for fire crews to contain the fire. Foresman said between 50 to 75 crew members from across the region helped extinguish the fire.
Authorities say approximately 40 guests were staying at the business at the time of the fire. The Red Cross is assisting.
Peery says that the guests were saved by what he calls a "little hero." Peery says that a 10-year-old boy named Ashton Dunford first saw the fire and immediately went to alert everyone in the bed and breakfast about the fire.
"He saw outside of the residence the fire starting and went into the building screaming for the people to get out," Peery said.
Peery, a volunteer firefighter himself, says he was 2-3 miles away at the time the fire started.
Peery says when he showed up on the scene he knew it was a total loss.
"When I turned the corner I knew it was going to be a long haul," Peery said.
He said 10-year-old Dunford was even trying to help put the fire out.
Foresman says the guests were staying in town for a wedding. A friend of the family tells WSLS 10 that the wedding was scheduled to happen at the bed and breakfast on Sunday, only hours after the fire started. The family friend says they are planning on getting married regardless of the fire at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The mother of the groom Vaveca Moss says the wedding decorations, flowers, grooms tuxes, bouquets and more were destroyed in the fire.
"Nobody died, praise the lord. That's what is important," Moss said. "We are just overwhelmed with the comforting words and kind actions from the community. I wasn't prepared for what I saw last night."
Moss says she is asking for donations to help make the wedding happen. She can be reached at 913-908-1599.
She says multiple family members and friends from around the world have traveled to Rockbridge County for the wedding. Multiple passports were burned in the fire, so travel will be a big issue.
Peery says that they are currently working to find new hotel rooms for the guests to stay in while in town. He says the bed and breakfast is booked every weekend from now until December. He says he is working to make sure all booked guests are notified and other accommodations can be made.
"God's plan is bigger than my plan," Peery said.
The cause of the fire has not been determined and there's no word on estimated damages. No one was injured in the fire.
The fire remains under investigation.