Firefighter escapes injury as barn burns
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on February 7, 2017 3:18 PM
News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Blake Allen points to the roof of his barn at 2331 Airport Road as firefighters work to put out the flames, Tuesday afternoon. Allen said the upstairs portion of the barn had been converted into a man cave.
News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Blake Allen, owner of the barn that burned at 2331 Airport Road Tuesday, said his truck was in the barn when the fire started. A passer-by stopped and helped him pull it out, but the front end of the truck was heavily damaged.
News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Blake and Amber Allen embrace while their barn at 2331 Airport Road is engulfed by flames.
FREMONT -- A fire Tuesday afternoon at 2331 Airport Road gutted a barn behind the house and scorched a vehicle that was parked inside the structure.
Blake Allen, the property owner, said he was inside his house at the address getting ready to laundry when he saw the barn in flames.
"I was inside getting ready to do laundry and something told me to look outside and when I did it was on fire," Allen said.
Allen said the upper-floor of the barn doubled as a man cave. His truck was parked in the barn, and he ran outside to try and get it out after seeing the fire and calling 911.
"I couldn't drive it out so I was looking for some type of strap to pull it out with, and some guy in a pickup truck stopped and helped me pull it out of there," Allen said.
The front of the truck was badly burned by the flames.
Assistant Fremont Fire Chief Steve Evans said the cause of the fire remains undetermined, but firefighters did not believe the blaze to be suspicious. There was power running to the barn.
Allen and his wife, Amber, said they have lived at 2331 Airport Road for about a year-and-a-half.
Evans said one firefighter had to be checked out by Wayne County EMS because he was on a ladder propped up against the top floor of the barn, and the floor fell through due to the fire and caused the ladder to fall with it.
Evans said the firefighter was not injured.
Fremont, Northeast and Antioch Volunteer Fire Departments responded to the fire. More than half-a-dozen trucks were on scene battling the flames.
"We had a lot of good support today from everyone that responded," Evans said.
The fire burned for around 45 minutes before being reduced to a smolder.