Firefighters battle structure blaze on Lexington Road

Published 12:01 am Sunday, February 5, 2017

Firefighters battled a structure fire along Lexington Road (Ky. 34) in Boyle County Saturday night.

There was no one home and no injuries were caused by the fire, Boyle County Assistant Fire Chief Jimmy Coffman said.

Firefighters responded late Saturday night to 4171 Lexington Road after multiple passers-by on Lexington Road called in to report seeing a fire. Firefighters found “heavy smoke and fire” coming from the back corner of the home when they arrived on the scene, Coffman said.

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Boyle County Fire sent two engines, four tankers and three command trucks to the fire, Coffman said. A rehab ambulance was also stationed at the scene, but Coffman said no firefighters had needed any assistance beyond normal periods of rest.

Ben Kleppinger/ben.kleppinger@amnews.com

Ben Kleppinger/ben.kleppinger@amnews.com

Firefighters “started with a defensive attack” from the outside, before moving inside to knock the fire down and get it under control, Coffman said. Shortly after midnight, Coffman said the fire was contained and responders just had to “mop up” remaining hot spots. He estimated it would take them two to three more hours to clear the scene.

Boyle County will use its internal fire investigators to try to determine a cause of the fire, and call in Kentucky State Police if they “find something they don’t like,” Coffman said. He couldn’t say how long the investigation would take.

Weather did not play much of a factor, he said.

“We’re just really lucky that it was tonight instead of last night because the temperatures were so much colder last night,” he said. “We’re probably in the high 30s right now, something like that. Last night we were down to almost single digits. You wouldn’t realize it but in the world of firefighting, just a 10-degree temperature (change) can really swing it to where it’s not in your favor.

“Tonight … we don’t have to worry about our lines freezing or keeping the water flowing or the roadways getting slick or anything like that. Last night we would have had that worry.”