7 people, 1 dog displaced in Covington house fires
COVINGTON, Ky. (WXIX) - Seven residents and a pet dog were displaced at two separate fires in Covington overnight, fire officials tell FOX19 NOW.
No injuries were reported and both fires remain under investigation, according to Covington Battalion Chief John Martin.
“Our investigators are going to be very busy,” he tells FOX19 NOW.
The most recent fire was early Thursday.
Crews responded to a report of a trash can on fire in the rear of a home in the 300 block of West 16th Street.
When they arrived, they found the residence on fire, Martin said.
The blaze also had spread to two neighboring homes, including one “very close to it” by some 400 feet, he said.
Both of those homes had “significant damage.”
The fire melted the siding on the third home, he added.
One person was displaced in the home that burned first and three residents were routed from the second home, according to the battalion chief.
Total damage at all three homes is set at $250,000, he said.
Crews responded to that fire just as they wrapped up battling one in the 700 block of Highland Avenue, Martin said.
The Highland Avenue fire was reported at 10:18 p.m. Wednesday by the crew in a Covington ambulance that just happened to be passing by en route to an EMS run nearby, he said.
The ambulance stopped at the ranch home because another ambulance already was at the EMS run, which turned out to be a false alarm, and heavy fire was coming from the back left side.
The ambulance crew made sure all residents made it out of the house OK, Martin said.
Firefighters initially lacked “an adequate hydrant” nearby to battle the blaze, Martin said, so they had to “lay a lot of hose on the ground” from another hydrant more than 1,100 feet away to extinguish it.
A fire truck that was nearby at the EMS run that turned out to be a false alarm quickly responded and assisted.
“They still had water on the fire quick and we had plenty of water to do the job,” the battalion chief said.
Damage to the home, however, is still set at $200,000.
“There was a lot of damage to the rear of the home,” Martin said.
Three residents were displaced in this fire, as well as a pet dog, he added.
Newport Fire Department assisted Covington firefighters at both fires and Fort Wright crews also responded to the Highland Avenue blaze, he added.
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