Weekend apartment fire under investigation

A weekend fire at an apartment complex in North-Corbin is still under investigation and the complex’s manager, Valerie Payne, said the cause of the blaze is still unknown as of Tuesday.

“They haven’t finished the investigation as of yet,” Payne said. “Right now they are not sure about what caused it and neither are we, so no one really knows right now.”

A fire at Northfield Station Apartments in north Corbin damaged the entryways to eight units at one of the complex’s buildings. Apartment managers and fire officials say the blaze is of suspicious orgigin.

The fire, which according to West Knox Volunteer Fire Department Chief David Harris, started some time around 4 a.m. Sunday at the Northfield Station Apartments, began in the breezeway of one of the apartment buildings and was under control shortly after crews arrived on the scene.

“Once our guys arrived on the scene, things were under control in around five minutes,” Harris said. “We were on the scene for about two hours to try and ensure that the fire would not reignite at the hot spots.”
Harris also said there were not believed to be any injuries, but a resident eventually went to the hospital for burns to one of her feet.

“Initially, we didn’t think anyone was hurt, but one of the residents apparently got her foot burned and didn’t realize it at first,” Harris said. “She was treated for the burns and I believe taken to the hospital.

“As far as I know, there were no other injuries to speak of,” he added.

As for the residents in the apartments surrounding the effected breezeway, Payne said that no residents were displaced as a result of the fire, thanks in part to the quick response and the firemen’s ability to contain the blaze.

“The damage remained outside of the apartments and only the breezeway was affected,” Payne said. “I am not sure if all the residents are staying there right now, but I know that we didn’t have to ask any of them to leave for any amount of time.

“The good news is that there was no damage on the interior, but we are still unsure of the amount of damage,” she added. “It is just really too soon to tell anything , so hopefully we will know something soon.”