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Floor caves on Stanford firefighters, but no one injured

September 02, 2012|By Ben Kleppinger | ben@theinteriorjournal.com

Ben Kleppinger / ben@theinteriorjournal.com

STANFORD — A floor collapsed while Stanford firefighters were inside a blazing house Sunday, but no one was injured and the fire was successfully extinguished.

Assistant Fire Chief Robin Jones said the duplex on Lancaster Street probably caught fire sometime around 7:30 or 8 p.m.

"When I got here, there was fire blowing through the roof," he said.

Jones said firefighters tried to get in through the back door to fight the fire, but the ceiling came in on them. Another attempt to get inside and put out the flames was also thwarted when the second-story floor collapsed while he and firefighter Rodney Floyd were inside the structure.

Jones said the collapsed floor and ceiling made fighting the fire difficult, but firefighters were eventually successful in extinguishing the flames.

Shortly after 10 p.m., firefighters used a ladder to access a second-story window and put out the last flames visible from the outside.

Six fire trucks, including a ladder truck with a ladder extended to the top of the duplex, were visible at the scene, along with many other emergency response vehicles. Firefighters expected to be on the scene for at least two more hours.

Jones said two people were living in the left side of the duplex where the fire started. The right side of the duplex was vacant. No one was home when the fire started and both residents had been accounted for Sunday night.

The cause was still under investigation Sunday night, but Jones said the fire was going through the roof in the kitchen area, which was located at the back of the building.

"That could be a good indication of where it started," he said.

Jones said the structure is likely "a total loss" due to heavy water and fire damage to both sides.

More than two dozen firefighters from Stanford, Lincoln County, Waynesburg and several other departments were on the scene Sunday night.

Rain from the remnants of Hurricane Isaac rolled through Kentucky Sunday evening, but Jones said rain didn't arrive in Stanford until after firefighters had contained the blaze.

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