Hot attic fire extinguished

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Shawneetown firefighters spent about two hours at the scene of an attic fire in the West Wilson housing project Sunday.

Chief Terry Golden said the fire affected two apartments: 128 A and 128 B, one of which was occupied by Mandy Patton.

Several firefighters were near the station at the time of the call and had a response time of about four minutes. They arrived to find smoke coming from the attic of the structure.

The fire turned out to be minor due to the quick response time, but was taxing on the 12 who responded. Golden said the high heat and humidity in the attic necessitated the use of air packs and changing out men. A heat sensing camera pinpointed the fire. Firefighters faced a challenge in reaching the fire due to blown-in insulation.

"We used 5-gallon buckets to move the insulation to get to it. The damage was minimal, but it was tough to get to it," Golden said.

The fire was a small electrical fire that caused little or no damage to the apartments. Only about 20 gallons of water was needed, Golden said.

"It only took about 20 gallons of water once we got to it, but it was a really tough place to get to," Golden said.

Firefighters received assistance from Shawneetown Police, Gallatin County Sheriff's Department and had Gallatin County EMS standing by in case anyone was overtaken by heat, but no one needed treatment, Golden said.

n DeNeal receives e-mail at editor@dailyregister.com