A Leitchfield business has been forced to close its doors due to a fire that swept through it Friday afternoon.

Leitchfield Fire Department Chief Carl Smith explained that by the time firemen arrived at Rough River Appliance Repair on Johnson Street, the shop was fully engulfed.

The fire damaged most of Rough River Appliance Repair’s warehouse, which is owned by Charlie Kiper.

Several explosions inside the building caused firefighters to extinguish the flames from the outside.

"We never did attack from the inside," Smith mentioned. "We attacked from the outside and had firefighters standing by at a nearby business also."

Strong winds caused officials to shut down Salt River Road in Leitchfield, due to large clouds of smoke covering most of the surrounding area. Three cars at Elvis Sims’ auto repair were damaged from the heat.

Paducah and Louisville Railroad officials were notified to shut down train traffic behind the home, and an apartment complex beside the business sustained damage to its vinyl siding from the heat of the fire.

Leggett and Platt, a nearby manufacturing plant, was also covered with smoke.

Moon said the Kentucky Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire, but no determination as to its cause has been made at this time.

Damages were so severe that Kiper was forced to close his shop temporarily. Moon said Kiper plans to rebuild.

The incident occurred at 1:30 p.m.

The Leitchfield Police Department assisted with traffic control.

Firefighters worked for three hours to clean up the scene.