Water Damage

The Boyle County Public Library is open Thursday for normal hours. The library had been closed Tuesday and Wednesday after a water line broke and repairs were made.

An early morning fire at the Brown Proctor apartments was traced to a stove burner that was left on in an apartment kitchen. Winchester firefighters were called to the building, 108 S. Main St., at 12:27 a.m. today. Winchester Fire-EMS Maj. Greg Beam said the fire started in the kitchen of apartment 407 where a burner ignited some papers that were lying on the counter. The resident was rescued from his apartment and was taken to Clark Regional Medical Center to be examined, Beam said.

The FEMA disaster recovery center for Boyle County residents and businesses that suffered water damage from the heavy flooding at the beginning of May is at the Burgin Fire Department, 204 Main St. in Burgin. Take Ky. 33 north from Danville to reach Burgin, then turn left at the caution light and the fire department will be on the left by city hall. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The center will be closed on holidays and Sundays.

A deadline of July 12 has been set for residents with flood damage to register with the Federal Emergency Management agency. No applications for assistance will be taken after this date. The FEMA disaster recovery center for Boyle County residents and businesses that suffered water damage from the heavy flooding at the beginning of May is at the Burgin Fire Department, 204 Main St. in Burgin. Take Ky. 33 north from Danville to reach Burgin, then turn left at the caution light and the fire department will be on the left by city hall.

The Nicholasville Fire Department suspects arson in a fire at a senior-care home last Wednesday, Aug. 31. Firefighters responded to Rose Terrace Lodge at 401 N. 2nd St. after 1 p.m. and found a fire in a residential room. Fire chief Charles Brumfield said his crew limited the fire damage to the one room although there was smoke and water damage throughout the south wing of the building. No injuries were reported. “They had a very quick knock-down and limited the damage of the fire to that one room,” Brumfield said.

At its monthly meeting Monday night, the Jessamine County Fire District gave Fire Chief Mike Rupard the go-ahead to come up with a design for a new pumper and accept bids on the design. "We're looking at buying one truck and depending on what the price is, and if we can get a good price break, purchasing two," Rupard said. "We're looking at putting a front-line pumper here at this station [No. 1], and that opens up the door to put one in the building the county is building out on Highway 68 at Ichthus.

Jessamine County Fire District board members were like kids in a candy store as they looked over two new pumper trucks that were delivered last week. "They're nice," board member and Firefighter Gerald Wheeler said. "It's going to give the county more protection with better equipment and the training that comes along with it. " Together, the new Pierce pumper trucks cost $523,000. Fire Chief Mike Rupard said the county saved about $36,000 by making the combined purchase. The pumper trucks will each carry 1,000 gallons of water and can pump 1,250 gallons per minute.

When Dr. Scott Scutchfield, who used to practice in Danville, had Gov. Ernie Fletcher in his office to check up on an injured shoulder, he took the opportunity to lobby for money to save McDowell House from water damage. "That's what you call arm-twisting," the governor joked Thursday at a gathering to celebrate a $328,800 federal grant for the house. Fletcher joined his wife, Glenna, who came to tour the house. Snacks were laid out on tables inside the house and candles lighted, almost as if Dr. Ephraim McDowell had been expecting the company himself.

WMU should treat its customers better To the Sun: After dealing with WMU, I believe it should be called Winchester Monopoly Utilities. My story is very simple. My husband and I are out of town. During the ice storm our electricity was off. Once it was restored, our water heater burst, causing water damage to the basement. We appreciate Winchester Municipal Utilities for shutting off the water once a leak was discovered. The damage could have been worse. Our son and his wife were moving back to Kentucky.

A grease fire forced a family from its home Sunday at Patrician Place Apartments. There were no injuries but some of the children's Christmas presents were ruined, according to Danville Fire Chief Mike Thomas. The call about the fire was received at 10:06 a.m. Firefighters arrived at the scene, 418 Patrician Place Apt. 5, five minutes later. "Our fire units saw smoke on Denmark Drive ... several streets away," Thomas said. The family told firefighters a grease fire started on the stove and spread through the kitchen in the second-floor apartment.

PERRYVILLE - Crews were called to a fire about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday at a vacant house on Webster Road southeast of Perryville. The fire, which caused major damage, began in the rear of the house and had not yet spread to the rest of the structure when crews arrived. The remainder of the house suffered only minor smoke and water damage. The fire was ruled accidental, with an undetermined cause. According to Boyle County Assistant Fire Chief James Coffman, the department investigated the fire afterward, despite it not appearing to be suspicious, something they do with every fire.

HARRODSBURG - A man was taken to the hospital after a fire early this morning heavily damaged a duplex in Mercer County. About 5:15 a.m., Harrodsburg Fire Department responded to a duplex on Greenbriar Drive for a structure fire. Assistant Fire Chief Rick Maxfield said the right unit of the duplex caught fire, and the cause was likely electrical. The occupant of the duplex awoke about 5 a.m. and realized his mattress was on fire, Maxfield said. The man attempted to remove the bed from the house, but the fire spread.

STANFORD - Three children and their grandmother were inside a Somerset Street home Thursday evening when a clogged chimney caught the attic on fire. Brandy Chable, a tenant at the house, said her mother was watching the kids while she went to pick up her husband when the fire started. “They saw a lot of smoke in the yard,” she said. Chable said her mother realized the house was on fire and evacuated the children before there were any injuries. Stanford Fire Chief Scott Maples said he was the first emergency responder on the scene.

STANFORD - Three children and their grandmother were inside a Somerset Street home Thursday evening when a clogged chimney caught the attic on fire. Brandy Chable, a tenant at the house, said her mother was watching the kids while she went to pick up her husband when the fire started. "They saw a lot of smoke in the yard," she said. Chable said her mother realized the house was on fire and evacuated the children before there were any injuries. Stanford Fire Chief Scott Maples said he was the first emergency responder on the scene.

Five people, including three children, were home Friday afternoon when a fire ignited and quickly spread through their Keene home. All escaped the home without injury, Jessamine County Fire Chief Mike Rupard said.  The Jessamine County Fire District responded to the fire, which started in a fireplace in the attic, Rupard said. “They had been burning both coal and wood,” he said. Smoke billowed from the house on Keene-Troy Pike for at least an hour Friday afternoon while firefighters worked to douse the flames.

A man accused of setting his girlfriend's bed on fire earlier this year will likely be sentenced to 20 years in prison. Glenn D. Johnston, 50, was arrested Aug. 27 after he admitted to paramedics that he set a fire in an apartment at 608 Westwood Drive following an argument, police said. Johnston pleaded guilty to a single count of first-degree arson in Clark Circuit Court Dec. 6. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 17. No one was injured in the fire. Paramedics were called to College Park in the evening hours of Aug. 27 for a medical call.

What began as a possible overdose Monday night turned into an arson investigation when the patient told an ambulance crew he set his girlfriend's apartment on fire. Glenn D. Johnston, 50, of Winchester, is now facing one count of first-degree arson and eight counts of first-degree wanton endangerment after he allegedly set the bed on fire at 608 Westwood Drive. The incident began when an ambulance was called to College Park around 11:35 p.m. Monday. “We responded along with EMS,” Winchester Police Capt.

STANFORD - Friday the 13th was not a good day for the Lincoln County Middle School library. Middle School Principal Debbie Sims said when she walked into the library July 13, she was met with a beautiful yet chaotic scene, as water poured over the library windows “like a waterfall” and rain drained into the library through ceiling tiles and light fixtures. "It was a mess," she said. "When you looked out those windows, it was water. You could not see out. " P.D. Roller, head of school facilities, said roofers left gutters off a high roof and failed to seal off the edge of a rubber covering on a lower roof, allowing heavy rains to pour off the higher roof and through the lower roof edge into the library.

An early-morning fire severely damaged the second floor of the Jessamine County Property Valuation Building Friday, located at 116 N. Main St., directly across from the Jessamine County Courthouse annex building. The blaze was discovered by a Kentucky State Trooper who was on his way to work around 5:15 a.m. “When I got to CVS (drug store), I noticed the smell of smoke,” officer Edwin Tillman said. “So I drove on down and spotted the building and on the right hand side, there was a lot of smoke coming out, so called it in.” The Nicholasville Fire Department was called out, and when they arrived, they found the second floor of the building fully engulfed, fire chief Charles Brumfield said.

LANCASTER - A Garrard County family had some bad luck early Monday morning - and some good luck as well - when fire broke out in the living room of a house at 11497 Richmond Road. A 3-week-old baby was among the family of five who escaped without injury. “We got the call at 7:37 and responded along with District 1 in Kirksville,” Assistant Chief Dean Vencil of Cartersville and Paint Lick Fire and Rescue said. “A fireman from Richmond, Byron Coffman, had just got off duty and was heading home.