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Firefighters enter a home on Keene-Troy Pike Friday. Jessamine County Fire responded to the fire around 1 p.m. (Photo by Kelly McKinney/kmckinney@jessaminejournal.com / February 1, 2013) |
Five people, including three children, were home Friday afternoon when a fire ignited and quickly spread through their Keene home. All escaped the home without injury, Jessamine County Fire Chief Mike Rupard said.
The Jessamine County Fire District responded to the fire, which started in a fireplace in the attic, Rupard said.
“They had been burning both coal and wood,” he said.
Smoke billowed from the house on Keene-Troy Pike for at least an hour Friday afternoon while firefighters worked to douse the flames.
“The biggest part of the attic was on fire,” Rupard said. “With the wind blowing, it made it hard to knock down.”
He added that the roof had been added to the house and was falling in, which added to the difficulties in extinguishing the fire.
Three children, their father and grandfather were in the home Friday when the fire started, Rupard said.
The children’s mother, Nickie Allen, who moved out of the home a little more than a week ago, watched as firefighters fought the flames.
She said she is just happy the children all made it out OK.
“I said the rest can burn down, as long as they made it out,” she said.
She said Friday that the children are all physically OK.
“My son is just worried about his blanket,” she said. “His blanket that he’s had since he was really little.”
The house likely will be a total loss because of the severity of the smoke and water damage, Rupard said.
Allen said the children will live with her at her mother’s for the time being.
