A house on Van Deman Street in Washington Court House suffered extensive damage after a fire started on the porch Sunday night.
The Washington Fire Department received a station tone from the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office shortly before midnight Sunday on reports of a house with fire on the front porch. Upon arrival, the Washington Fire Department found the front of the structure at 408 Van Deman St. on fire. No injuries were reported.
“The (fire department) did find the front of the structure fully involved at the time of arrival,” the Washington Fire Department report stated. “The (fire department) initiated an aggressive exterior fire attack using deck-gun operations. The (fire department) overhauled and extinguished hot spots.”
Often, according to www.firerescue1.com, the deck gun is not looked upon as a viable option for the majority of fires and has seemingly been used as a last resort when going defensive. However, the deck gun can be used as an initial offensive weapon to quickly help knock down spreading fire conditions and buy some more time for an interior attack. Deck guns can be piped either by a single water pipe or by two separate water pipes. Regardless of how it is supplied in the pump housing, it delivers a high flow rate at a great distance. Some monitor models can deliver up to 1,250 gallons per minute a great distance from the fire. These types of systems require a good water source that can supply the needed amount of water.
Two other houses were damaged during the fire. The house at 404 Van Deman suffered some melting on the siding due to the radiant heat from the fire, and the house at 412 Van Deman had a window pane crack during the deck gun operations/fire attack on the neighboring structure. The fire department cleared the scene shortly after 3 a.m.
No additional information was available Monday, and the fire remains under investigation. The Washington Police Department was on the scene assisting the Washington Fire Department.
