One man is seriously injured and another man’s dog is dead after a house fire in Lexington. It happened at a home on Martin Luther King Boulevard around 3 a.m. Saturday. Firefighters say someone started the fire intentionally.
Three men were inside when the fire started. All three got out, but one man was on fire as he ran from the burning home. Firefighters say he was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
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The fight against the flames lasted longer than the typical house fire, mostly because it’s an older building.
“It gave us some problems. Once, we thought we were through the ceiling and didn’t find fire. There was actually another ceiling behind the fire, so we had to pull all that out to work through it,” said Jeff Nantz from the Lexington Fire Department.
Fire crews were on scene for more than 6 hours Saturday morning and they had the road closed from 3rd to 4th streets as they investigated the cause. The chief says after about 30 minutes of intense work, they called in a second crew of men to relieve the first.
“They’re pretty tired. They worked at it pretty hard for 20 or 30 minutes trying to get it under control. Besides just being labor intensive it’s a high stress level so we fatigued them out pretty quick,” said Nantz.
One of the occupants’ dog was not lucky enough to get out before the house erupted into flames. The fire department says they have contacted the Red Cross to find somewhere for these people to stay until they find a more permanent home.
The fire has been ruled arson. Anyone with any information on the fire is asked to call 231-5672 or email arsontips@lexingtonky.gov.