MILLERSBURG, Ky. (FOX 56) – In Millersburg, the cleanup is underway after a massive fire wiped out several buildings in the city’s historic downtown on Wednesday.
On Thursday smoke was still rising from the area, but despite the catastrophic damage, no one was seriously hurt.
“We ended up having to call multiple agencies, I think in total 7 or 8 agencies were here,” Major Brent Wilson with the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office told FOX 56.
Wilson said the first call came in around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday and the response lasted through the night.
“You can see we still have hot spots now, but I think it took about an hour and a half, 2 hours for them to get it under control. And when I say under control- they weren’t afraid it was going to spread anymore. From that point they just continued to fight until they got it down to where it is today,” he said.
Lindsey Scalf is one of the residents now out of her home. She had only been living in her Main Street apartment since January.
Lexington-based Kingston Property Management owns many of the buildings that were damaged including hers, but FOX 56 did not hear back when we reached out for a comment.
Built in 1898, the building’s firewall did its job.
Her home only suffered water damage, but her car was a total loss.
She returned with her mother and boyfriend Thursday to collect her belongings under the supervision of safety officials for fear of possible structural damage. When the fire first started, she put out a desperate call on social media when her cat Nala got lost in the chaos. By 12 a.m. firefighters had rescued the cat.
“It was difficult, luckily this community is great. A lot of the community members brought coolers, they brought water, they brought ice,” Wilson said.
Wilson said some firefighters suffered heat exhaustion but are doing okay.
Residents are finding ways to give back, several people have signed a journal with a note thanking first responders, a small gesture in the long journey to now rise from the ashes. The fire does remain an active investigation.
Kentucky State Police has sent in two arson investigators to help assist local law enforcement.