LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The roof on a large section of Building 20 is gone. Nine units are likely to be declared total losses, but no one was hurt in Monday’s Veridian Apartment Complex fire, which displaced so many people.
“Our incident command worked with the Red Cross, and there were 10 people we had to get overnight stays for here, locally,” said Battalion Chief Derek Roberts of the Lexington Fire Department.
Chief Roberts said the fire was elevated to a two-alarm given its size and scope. More than 50 firefighters were needed here to get it under control, which they did after several hours. Investigators gathered what they needed from the scene before turning this section of the complex back over to management.
“Every fire we go to, we are going to investigate,” Chief Roberts said. “There’s nothing right now that indicates arson at all, but with something that affects so many people, we are going to take our time to make sure that we do it right,” he added.
The fire broke out before 5 p.m., which is a time of day when many people aren’t at home, especially on a day when the weather was as nice as it was on Monday. That was a likely factor in the lack of injuries at this complex.
“In the mid-afternoon, they’re either at work, not at home, at school or this time (of year), summer camp, so not a lot of residents here,” Chief Roberts said.
