Livingston Enterprise

Posted December 4, 2013 at 3:03 pm

Local firefighters were busy Sunday morning, November 24, fighting a house fire in Hilham, which resulted in a total loss for the homeowner.

Hilham firefighters, according to reports from Hilham Volunteer Fire Chief Donnie Bull, were dispatched at 11:12 a.m. Sunday to the home of John Welleford at 524 Standing Stone Highway, Hilham.

“There was a lot of smoke when we got there,” Bull said. “We got right on it and were able to save the house, the structure, but the inside of it was pretty well gutted. I would say the house was probably totaled.”

Bull said no one was home at the time of the fire; no one was injured, and believes the fire may have been electrical in nature.

He said his department didn’t really have to use all that much water to get the fire under control. He estimated his department used about 2,000 gallons of water but primarily fought the fire from the inside of the structure using air packs. He said they were probably actively fighting the fire for about two hours from around 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Firefighters from Hardys’s Chapel and the Fairgrounds Volunteer Fire Departments also responded to the scene to assist Hilham firefighters. In addition, the ambulance service, the electric company and the sheriff’s department also responded to the fire.

Chief Bull said he thinks Willeford has family to stay with and insurance coverage on the house.