The Kentucky office of Republican Sen. Rand Paul was engulfed in flames early Friday morning.
Firefighters in the city of Bowling Green were dispatched to Paul’s downtown office in the city at around 1:45 a.m. local time, the Bowling Green Daily News reported.
Katie McKee with the Bowling Green Fire Department told the outlet no injuries were reported in the fire.
BREAKING: The fire department is reportedly on scene at Rand Paul’s (R-KY) office in Bowling Green, Kentucky after it caught fire overnight. (story is still developing) pic.twitter.com/UVI83A6Haw
— TexasLindsay™ (@TexasLindsay_) July 21, 2023
McKee said the flames were reported and that fire units were immediately dispatched.
“And we have just been working on this structure fire ever since,” she told the outlet early on Friday morning.
According to the Daily News, firefighters cut down tree limbs to reach the building’s second floor with firefighting equipment.
The damage was widespread and led the building’s roof to collapse, meaning the building is likely a total loss.
In all, 31 firefighters worked to put out the fire. The cause of the blaze is not known.
No one was injured but the fire did reportedly affect other buildings in the area.
Sen. Rand Paul’s office was not the only building impacted, the fire impacted multiple neighboring commercial businesses in downtown Bowling Green.
A public information officer for the Bowling Green Fire Department, says no injuries have been reported. pic.twitter.com/VYh02Ew1q8
— TexasLindsay™ (@TexasLindsay_) July 21, 2023
McKee said firefighters would remain at the scene to ensure the fire did not reignite.
“They will be monitoring this building for a while, even if the fire is completely extinguished,” she said.
Another view of the fire on State St. Photo by Slim Nash. pic.twitter.com/iyByj5UGj5
— Joe Imel (@joeimel) July 21, 2023
BG Fire crews still on scene at a structure fire on State Street. The building housed Sen. Rand Paul’s Bg office. Traffic is being detoured. Cause unknown as of 8:30 this morning. More to come. pic.twitter.com/6CoTdgBxH5
— Will Whaley (@Will_Whaley_) July 21, 2023
Sen. Paul commented on the fire to the Daily News and said it would not affect the way in which he works for his constituents.
“We are thankful for the Bowling Green first responders who arrived quickly to the scene to put out the fire, and are continuing to work with authorities to assess damages and to determine a cause,” Paul stated.
The senator added, ”We have a very well established emergency management plan and have the ability to continue operations that will not impact our work helping Kentuckians.”
According to the real estate consulting company Xome, the building, which is located at 1029 State St in downtown Bowling Green, was built in 1900.
While the source of Friday’s blaze remains unclear, the senator has been the victim of political violence in the past.
In 2017, he was ambushed by a neighbor in his Kentucky yard, which resulted in him sustaining broken ribs, NBC News reported. He later had part of a lung removed due to complications from that attack.
Paul was also present at a practice for the annual 2017 congressional baseball game when a left-wing activist shot a number of people, including Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana.
Paul was unharmed during the shooting.
In the summer of 2020, Paul and his wife were also surrounded by a crowd of aggressive left-wing activists in Washington, D.C., after they left the White House following then-President Donald Trump’s acceptance of the GOP’s nomination.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
