Home Fire Requires First Responders to Shuttle Water

A large home fire Thursday, Sept. 22, required fire crews to shuttle water to fight the blaze.

Communication officers with received a 911 call at 10:42 p.m. Thursday reporting a structure fire in the 1400 block of Carl Bethlehem Road.

“First arriving firefighters found heavy fire conditions in the second floor of the structure,” Lt. Scott Dakin, public information officer, said in a news release . “The fire had vented through the roof prior to the arrival of fire crews, therefore the decision was made to attack the fire from outside the structure.”

The home was more than 5,000 square feet including a basement and two stories. Dakin said firefighting efforts were greatly slowed since the home was located a long distance from the roadway. 

Ladder 7, Engine 4, Med 7 and Battalion 1 were originally dispatched, but firefighters quickly realized they would need to shuttle water to the scene and requested Engine 3 and Engine 6 to respond.

Deputy Chief John Skinner and Captain Bryan Bullock also arrived to assist in firefighting efforts. West Jackson Fire Department and Jackson Trail Fire Department assisted in delivering water to the scene via tanker trucks.

Due to the water issues firefighters were unable to contain the fire before it completely engulfed the first and second floors and began spreading to the basement.

The American Red Cross responded to the scene to assist the sole occupant of the home.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the county's Fire Investigation Team.