Five departments called to battle Thursday house fire in north Corbin

Firefighters from five departments were called out Thursday to battle a house fire in north Corbin.

West Knox and Lily firefighters were initially paged to the scene at 10180 South U.S. 25 at approximately 10:20 a.m.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, flames were pouring through the front windows of the two-story home. The occupants, which included a mother and her son, along with several cats and a dog, had gotten safely out of the home. The lady’s husband had gone to the store, but arrived minutes after the first firefighters.

“Please start the water,” he repeatedly implored firefighters as they prepared to attack the blaze.

Corbin Fire Department was then paged to the scene to provide additional manpower.

London/Laurel County Fire and Rescue and Keavy Fire Department were both paged soon after.

Keavy responded with a tanker truck and London/Laurel County brought its Cascade truck, which is used to refill the air bottles for the firefighters’ breathing apparatuses

Firefighters explained that while there was a hydrant in the area, it was too far away to allow them to pull sufficient water from it, forcing them to rely on water from the trucks.

Firefighters made entry into the home through the front door with two hose lines and had the flames knocked down within 20 minutes.

One firefighter came out of the home a short time later clutching a cat that had been rescued.

Family members said they believed all of the animals were accounted for.

They said they suspected a space heater may have sparked the fire.

Firefighters were on scene until after noon working to ensure the blaze was extinguished.