Saturday, September 4, 2010 A Lyndon (KY) Firefighter suffered 2nd & 3rd degree burns to his hands and had to jump from a second-floor balcony while operating at a 2 alarm fire at a Lyndon apartment building Friday evening. The fire at the Partridge Meadows Apartments & Townhomes off LaGrange Road gutted the top floor of one of the apartment buildings, destroying four apartments.

The firefighter who jumped from the balcony might have injured his ankle and two other firefighters were taken to the hospital as a precaution, said Rick Tonini, spokesman for the St. Matthews Fire Protection District. All the injured firefighters were from the Lyndon Fire Protection District.

It took 35 firefighters from five departments a little more than an hour to bring the fire under control, said Lyndon Fire Protection District Chief Russ Rakestraw.
All the residents were outside the building when firefighters arrived on the scene, Tonini said.

The fire was reported at 5:45 p.m. at one of the complex’s buildings at 8102 Pelican Way. When firefighters arrived minutes later, flames were already burning through the roof. The firefighter who suffered burns was one of the first on the scene. He rushed into the building looking for anyone who might be inside, but the fire moved quickly and trapped him, forcing him to jump from the balcony.

Because the fire was so large, crews decided not to send anyone else inside and instead fought the fire defensively, spraying it with water from the outside.
Crews remained on the scene after the fire was controlled, spraying the building to prevent hot spots from flaring. Smoke lingered as neighbors surveyed the damage.