Family escapes house fire, partially because of what kids learned at school

By Lauren Adams

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    HARDIN COUNTY, Kentucky (WLKY) — A family is left picking up the pieces after a fire ripped through that home in Elizabethtown.

Central Hardin’s Assistant Fire Chief Billy Keith remembers Wednesday night’s call: a home fully engulfed.

But as the trucks got closer, he knew there would be little chance of saving it.

“While we were responding, you could see smoke plumes from miles away,” Keith said.

Neighbors on West Airview Drive, off of Dixie Highway in Elizabethtown, say the fire was burning so hot and quick that they could feel the warmth of the flames from as far away as across the street.

Garret Newberry said it was close to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday when chaos erupted.

“My wife and I were about to go to dinner and heard the neighbor screaming and I looked out the door and there’s just fire shooting out of the window,” Newberry said.

Newberry said the family of four, including a girl, 6, and little boy, 4, were outside just briefly, watching their home go up in flames.

“They were just shaken and dazed,” Newberry said.

The mother of the family told WLKY she was outside when she first noticed smoke coming from their home. She rushed inside and began yelling out for her children. Already, the house was beginning to fill with smoke and flames, and incredibly, those children knew exactly what to do.

They stayed calm as their mother guided them to the front door. The parents later told first responders the kids had recently learned about fire safety.

“Luckily, they had some training through school, and they were watching out for one another, had their noses covered, staying low and coming out of the house,” Keith said.

Keith added if not for the mother’s calm demeanor and that recent lesson at school, things could have had a much different, possibly tragic, outcome.

The cause of the fire, which began in a front room of the house, remains under investigation.

The home has been deemed a total loss, and for now the family is staying with loved ones. Those interested in helping them can click here.

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