by BECKY GOFF
Little Apple Post
WAMEGO - Just before 4:30 am, on Tuesday, January 9th, Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Dispatch was contacted by a Wamego resident who reported he neighbor's home appeared to be on fire and the residents were home.
Dispatch paged Fire, EMS and Law Enforcement personnel to the home, located in the 100 block of Chestnut Street.
Louisville Fire Department Chief, Travis Ten Eyck, who lives nearby, responded directly to the residence from his home and found smoke and fire coming from the residence when he arrived on scene.
Shortly after arriving Chief Ten Eyck learned there were two occupants at the residence, one had made his way safely outside, however, a 66-year-old male was unable to leave his bedroom.
Chief Ten Eyck made the decision to enter the residence, without any protective gear, to attempt to locate the resident and assist them with exiting the house.
Initially the resident resisted assistance in leaving the residence, but lost consciousness, at which time, Chief Ten Eyck carried him to a window, where Wamego Police Officer, Maxie Joye assisted him in getting the resident out of the house, and then assisted Chief Ten Eyck out of the structure.
Wamego Fire Department personnel arrived on scene shortly after the rescue, and extinguished the fire.
According to Wamego Fire Chief Phil Stultz, the fire was contained to the kitchen and hallway, however, smoke damaged 80% of the residence. Chief Stultz continued, “Firefighters did a great job of entering and putting out the fire.”
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Agencies responding to the fire include: Wamego Fire Department, Louisville Fire Department, Saint George Fire Department, Blue Township Fire Department, Pottawatomie County EMS, Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office, and Wamego Police Department.