Nicholasville firefighters removed debris from 600 Wichita Drive after a fire at the house Wednesday afternoon. Battalion chief David Johns said the blaze began near the washer and dryer, which fire officials looked over in the driveway. (Photo by Laura Butler/lbutler@jessaminejournal.com / December 28, 2011) |
Three days after two separate fires broke out near Stellar Street in Nicholasville, firefighters responded to another blaze across the railroad tracks on Wichita Drive.
The blaze began in the laundry room at 600 Wichita Drive on the afternoon of Dec. 28, and the fire department responded around 3:50 p.m. Battalion chief David Johns said at the scene that officials did not know if anyone was home at the time of the fire but that no one was injured.
The flames spread into the living room and hallway, Johns said, causing significant heat damage and smoke damage throughout the house. The structural integrity of the home was not damaged, Johns said.
The fire began near the washer and dryer. Firefighters at the scene examined the burned dryer in the driveway very closely, but deputy chief Kevin Baker said the investigation by the Nicholasville Police Department is still ongoing.
“It’s just kind of a weird, odd place and time,” he said last Thursday. “That’s literally what we were shaking our heads about yesterday.”
Wednesday’s blaze is the latest in a string of fires in the city, many of which are being investigated as possible cases of arson.
A fire that began in a 3rd Street barn Christmas morning spread to two garages and two Stellar Street homes while a separate blaze broke out in a delivery truck off 3rd Street. The joint arson task force is involved in those investigations, and fire chief Charles Brumfield said two other “suspicious” fires occurred a week and a half ago on Stephens Drive, a block away from Stellar Street.
When asked Thursday if the Wichita Drive fire was being investigated as a case of arson, Baker said the cause was still undetermined.
“We’re investigating it as we do with every fire — all avenues,” he said. “We’re not really sure one way or the other.”
Nicholasville police officer Kevin Grimes said Wednesday that a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of individuals in the Stellar Street cases had been increased. Anyone with information about those fires should call 1-800-27-ARSON, 859-885-5505, or 859-885-9467.
