Crews quickly battle side-by-side fires, rescue fellow member

FRANKFORT, Ind. (WLFI) - A Frankfort probationary firefighter was injured as crews battled flames erupting from two adjacent homes at once this week.

Fire Chief John Kirby says Adam Lucas was hurt after he fell 10 feet into the basement of one of the homes on fire. Kirby says Lucas was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital and was treated and released. He returned to duty at Fire Station No. 2 later in the evening with minor bumps and bruises.

“One house caught fire from exposure to the other one before our crews arrived,” Kirby said. “With both houses fully involved, I am extremely proud of the fast work done by our team to minimize the damage caused.”

Deputy Chief Jamie Michael was the incident commander on the scene. He said the crews did a great job both in battling the fires and rescuing Lucas.

“I want to commend Lieutenant Ed Cripe and Firefighter Kevin Watkins for their quick actions in pulling Lucas out of the basement that was completely engulfed in black smoke. I am equally proud of our entire crew for knocking the fires down so fast,” Michael said.

“With the manpower we have, we got a great stop on the main fire, containing it to one room. We fought those fires with a minimal crew of eight firefighters who ventilated with an interior attack on one house and an exterior attack on the other structure. The siding melted on one house with minimal damage otherwise. It could have been much worse.”

Deputy Chief and Fire Investigator Jeff Cline said arson and all accidental causes have been ruled out.

“While our investigation is ongoing and the interview process is underway, we do not believe the original fire was intentionally set,” Cline said. “We are looking at a couple of juvenile suspects who may have accidentally started the fire.”

The original house that caught fire was unoccupied. The neighboring house was not vacant, but the homeowners were not in the home at the time of the fire.

Eight more firefighters were called in to help, with four going to the scene to help the first crew who responded, and four remaining at the station to respond to any additional city emergencies.