Published: February 01, 2008 11:48 pm            

Fire forces apartment evacuation

No reported injuries

FLATWOODS — No injuries were reported in a fire that displaced 12 in 8 Flatwoods families Friday morning.

Firefighters from two Greenup County fire departments were able to contain the blaze, reported about 3 a.m., to two apartments in one of seven Meadowood Apartments buildings, near Bellefonte Memorial Gardens.

Randy Reed, assistant chief of the Flatwoods Volunteer Fire Department and a Flatwoods police officer, said the fire appeared to have started because of an electrical problem. The investigation into the cause of the fire is still ongoing, he said.

Reed said the fire began in a female’s apartment. The unidentified woman, who woke up to the sound of her fire alarm, escaped without injury.

“Her smoke detector is exactly what saved her life,” he said.

The woman’s apartment was a total loss, and a neighboring apartment that was unoccupied at the time of the blaze received “fairly heavy damage,” Reed said.

No injuries were reported.

Families in eight apartments were evacuated because the building’s electrical service had to be cut off.

Dave Stevens, executive director of the Northeast Chapter of the Red Cross, said 911 dispatchers, seeking homes for the displaced families, contacted him about 4 a.m.

The Red Cross funded 3-day hotel stays for four families unable to find temporary overnight lodging with friends or relatives, Stevens said.

Meadowood manager Teddi Caldwell said the electrical service was turned back on in the building Friday, which means most of the families could return to their apartments. Caldwell, who has no other vacancies at Meadowood, said one of the tenants whose apartment was destroyed found a new rental place.

Flatwoods firefighters were assisted at the scene by the Russell Fire Department.

MARY MUSIC can be reached at mmusic@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2657.

        

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