Cross Plains home destroyed

On Friday, Jan. 24, at 10:12 am, Friendship Volunteer Fire Department was called to a fire in the residence at 9412 South State Road 129, Cross Plains. Friendship unit arrived on the scene to heavy smoke that was coming from the structure, and the fire was showing from the rear of the entrance of the residence.

A transitional attack was taken to get the fire out. Firefighters first knocked down the fire from the exterior followed by an interior attack once the water supply was established. The fire was reported under control at 10:47am. Versailles Volunteer Fire Dept. was also dispatched via automatic mutual aid in assisting Friendship. Friendship Fire Unit 71, 77, and 78 responded with eight members and Versailles Fire responded with their tanker 65 and four members.

The structure suffered significant fire damage in the rear of the house. There was also smoke and heat damage throughout the entire structure of the residence. There was approximately 11,000 gallons of water that was utilized to extinguish the fire. Strong winds and icy conditions around the residence provided additional challenges for the firefighters.

The Red Cross was notified and have provided aid to the family. Cross Plains Live Auction has also set up a donation box and money envelope to help the family. If anyone would like to donate to the family, they can contact Cross Plains Live Auction on their Facebook page.

Friendship was also assisted by REMC with power shut off; Ripley Co EMS for firefighter rehab and stand by support; Ripley Co. Sheriff Dept. for traffic control as Hwy 129 was shut down for a period of time due to the large volume of smoke eliminating visibility on the roadway. INDOT salted the highway afterwards to treat ice left on the roadway from the fireground operations. The fire remains under investigation.