2 firefighters hurt in Owingsville roof collapse: Department says crews faced community backlash

OWINGSVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — On Sunday morning, the Owingsville Fire Department addressed the community on social media after a fire led to a roof collapse that hurt two fires and led to one being taken to the hospital on Saturday.

The Owingsville Fire Department (OFD) posted on Facebook that just before 2:45 a.m. on Saturday crews had been dispatched to a working structure fire on Ridge Road.

Department staff wrote that while helping the owner of the property salvage important items, the roof collapsed without warning and hit two firefighters, trapping one of them.

The OFD said that within five minutes, crews got the trapped firefighter to safety. Emergency personnel checked on him before he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. He has since been released, per authorities.

Fire department staff said that throughout battling the Ridge Road fire on Saturday, crews had been dispatched to the area three times. The department said that some people may not “understand the method to the madness” that firefighters use when making important decisions.

“Feel free to join the department closest to you, I promise you everyone is needing help,” OFD staff wrote.

Owingsville fire officials said multiple other departments from the Bath County area helped OFD crews extinguish the house fire.