Two out-of-control fires extinguished

Shawneetown firefighters responded to two grass fires at about the same time that both escalated into structure fires during Wednesday's breezy afternoon.

The first was 2:15 p.m. at 5997 state Route 1 South that involved fire over 7.6 acres of overgrown brush and a vacant house trailer, according to Fire Chief Terry Golden. The property was flooded in the 2011 flood and had been abandoned since. Marlin Gruelle of Herrin bought property south of the acreage and was cleaning it up.

Firefighters saved an outbuilding behind the trailer.

Gruelle had been burning debris when the wind drove the fire from the south to the north beneath the trailer by the time firefighters arrived, Golden said. Gruelle had been fighting the fire on his own and required medical treatment for oxygen depletion.

"He exhausted himself trying to put it out," Golden said.

A U.S. Forest Service fire crew and Gallatin County EMS responded with Gallatin County Sheriff's Deputies and Ridgway Police helping with traffic control.

Firefighters remained on the scene until 4:59 p.m.

The second fire broke out only five minutes after the first fire. At 2:20 p.m. a second fire was reported at 135 Main St., Junction, on the south end of town. Linda Torum, occupant of a house owned by Roy Crider, was burning trash when the wind blew fire from the trash barrel and it caught the yard on fire, Golden said.

The fire melted siding off the back of the house and burned underpinning off the next door trailer, though there was no interior damage to either structure, Golden said.

Firefighters extinguished the fire and put out an electric pole that had ignited. They were on the scene until 3:10 p.m.

Golden asks everyone to use caution when burning during this dry, windy period when many want to clean up on mild days.

"Until things green up a little bit, if people are going to burn - and I know people are - they need to have a garden hose out or trench around it to make sure it stays where its supposed to," Golden said.