UPDATE: Homeowner talks about tragedy of losing home

Chief Saas says there are no hydrants in that area, so fire crews have taken a defensive approach to extinguishing the fire

UPDATE NOVEMBER 19, 2021

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Lexington fire crews remained on scene of a house fire on Old Richmond Road Saturday night well into Sunday morning. Now, the family of that home is picking up the pieces, just a week before Christmas.

“How do you take the call that your house is on fire?” says homeowner Russell Perry.

Perry says he was out of the house when he got a call around 6:30 Saturday night telling him his house was burning. Perry says even though he wasn’t at home, his dog and girlfriend were, but he says thankfully, they weren’t hurt. Because of road blocks from the fire department, Perry says it took him a while to get back to his house.

“When I arrived, it already had flames shooting completely out of the roof. Gusts of wind picked up at the time and the house, like I say, it really went up fast,” says Perry. “I was really surprised it went up as fast as it did.”

One hour is all it took for a chimney fire to destroy the home Perry built about 15 years ago. Perry says this home held a lot of memories and a special place in his heart.

“It’s just a really nice, quiet place, you know,”says Perry. “I raised my daughter here and I think she’s probably just as upset, if not more upset than I am.”

Perry says the entire first floor of the house is a complete loss. With nothing but the clothes on his back, he alongside family and friends picked through the destruction trying to find anything salvageable. At a week before Christmas, the loss of Perry’s house couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“I hope my family’s going to understand why they don’t have any gifts this year,” says Perry. “But we’ll go on with Christmas, we still have the family, we’re still together and just make it through it.”

Perry says right now, he’s not sure what his next move is and says he’s still trying to process through this loss.

“I’m still trying to get some idea of what exactly I’m going to do,” says Perry. “I’d like to build back.”

UPDATE: (9:00PM) – Just after 730 the fire was deemed under control. A water shuttle was conducted to get water to the house.

No injuries have been reported so far.

It is unknown whether anyone was home at the time the fire started.

Lexington police had closed down Old Richmond between South Cleveland the 99 I-75 exit while crews worked.

Chief Saas says crews will remain on scene for several more hours.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – The Lexington Fire Department is actively working a house fire in the 700 block of Old Richmond Road.

According to Battalion Chief Jordan Saas, the fire was upgraded to a working structure fire. He says the fire was well advanced by the time firefighters arrived.

Chief Saas says there are no hydrants in that area, so fire crews have taken a defensive approach to extinguishing the fire…which he says mean no one is going inside to try and fight the fire.

The fire is still very active and ongoing.

A fire investigator has responded to the scene and will be looking into the cause and origin of the fire.

If anyone was inside or if there are any injuries is unknown at this time.

We will keep you updated as we know more.