A fire heavily damaged a Lakeland house this afternoon (1.25.18), according to a Shelby County Fire Department official but there were no injuries.
Brent W. Perkins, PIO/GIS for the Shelby County Fire Department (SCFD), told Lakeland Currents that a fire at 3008 Shadow Green Lane was reported at 4:47 p.m. and responders were on the scene four minutes later. He said fire and smoke were coming from the roof. He said it was a kitchen fire, possibly originating on the stove.
A neighbor on Shadow Green, Kathryn Cook, witnessed the fire and talked to the man who rents the house. The house is owned by Rose Investment Corp. in Memphis
Mrs. Cook said she was at home and alerted by the sirens. She lives about 10 doors down from the burned house. She immediately walked to the house consumed by flames.
She reported the man said he put a pot of water on the stove to boil, and stepped away from the kitchen momentarily. When he returned, fire was shooting out. “He’s ok,” she said. “He tried to fight the fire but was not burned. He wanted to return to the house for his ID.” She cautioned him not to return inside the house because it would not be structurally sound.
“He was in shock,” she said. “The house is a total loss. There is no way for restoration. It is just not structurally sound.”
Mr. Perkins said three fire departments responded to the fire: Shelby County as primary along with Arlington Fire Department and Memphis Fire Department. “There were three fire departments on scene with five engine companies.” He said there were two dozen fire fighters, four chiefs and two ambulances. He added that a lot of ambulance drivers double as fire fighters. He noted there were no injuries at the fire.
He said the 911 call about the fire came from the resident. Mr. Perkins said since the scene is still evolving, there is no definitive information from SCFD on the extent of damage.
Mrs. Cook said,” It was real freakish. I thought the car (inside the garage) was on fire. She said initially the garage door was closed and the front of the house was engulfed with flames. “I was surprised they kept the car from blowing up. The garage is next to the kitchen.”
… Photos and video courtesy of Lakeland Resident Kathryn Cook.
