WURTLAND — Two dozen firefighters from three jurisdictions battled a house fire on Ky. 693 for several hours on Monday in wind, snow and subfreezing temperatures.

The home at 1206 Ky. 693 was believed to be that of Cleo and Joyce Fortner. It was destroyed, firefighters said.

No one was injured in the fire. Neighbors said they saw the couple leave before it started, reporting Cleo Fortner left on foot in one direction and Joyce Fortner drove off shortly before him in a different direction.

Clifford Heighton and his wife, Debbie, who live next door to the Fortners, were among several neighbors along the street who were home when the fire started shortly before 2 p.m.

Clifford Heighton said he saw smoke pouring from the front of house when he stepped outside to cut a piece of flooring in his garage, which is directly beside the Fortner home.

He said he yelled for his wife to call 911, but by the time Debbie Heighton dialed authorities, the home had erupted into flames.

Debbie Heighton said she saw large flames shooting through the roof of the home and heard “glass start popping.” Smoke quickly grew so thick it engulfed the road.

“It’s very sad,” she said. “It’s just sad to think someone you live next door to has lost everything they own. It could easily be any one of us. I’m just glad it wasn’t in the middle of the night when there might have been somebody in bed.”

According to the Heightons, the home was a little more than a year old and the Fortners were its only occupants. “We watched it go up and now we’re watching it go down. It’s really sad,” Debbie Heighton said.

“The fire was through the roof by the time we got here,” said Bob Nolan, assistant chief of the Wurtland Volunteer Fire Department. “It’s a total loss.”

Nolan said he could not verify the address or the home’s owners.

The cause of the fire was unknown. Nolan said Monday evening investigators with the Kentucky State Police and the state Fire Marshal’s Office had finished going over the fire scene and would likely be issuing reports on their findings in the next couple of days.

Nolan said firefighters were still on the scene late Monday evening, awaiting the arrival of a piece of heavy equipment to be used to knock down what was left of the structure to prevent it from being a hazard.

“It was just too far gone by the time anyone saw it,” said Raceland Fire Chief Pete Cochran. He said the fire appeared to have started in the center front of the four-bedroom house.

Firefighters from the Greenup Volunteer Fire Department joined those from Raceland and Wurtland in battling the blaze. Also at the scene were the Worthington Volunteer Fire Department and Greenup County Sheriff’s Department. The Russell Volunteer Fire Department was on standby, according to authorities.

CARRIE KIRSCHNER can be reach at ckirschner@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2653.