Help from above: Air units respond as several fires, crashes occur in short span

A series of fires and car crashes tested local fire and EMS crews last week and required three helicopter transports to area hospitals.

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An Air Methods helicopter approaches a landing zone on Ky. 22 near Waldeck Farm and Veterans Memorial Parkway after a truck overturned Nov. 29.

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A two-crash on Goshen Lane on Friday night has one woman in critical but stable condition at University Hospital.

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Crews from Ballardsville Fire and Oldham County EMS responded to a two-car crash on Ky. 53 around 1:45 p.m. Friday. A Volkswagon Jetta and a pickup truck collided head-on in a curve near the Oldham-Shelby county line. The driver of the Jetta had to be extricated and was transported by helicopter to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No one else was injured.

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A truck that crashed Nov. 29 near Waldeck Farm came to rest on a small brick wall.

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Serious crashes occurred Thursday in Crestwood and Friday in both La Grange and Goshen.

Crews also responded to a boat explosion in Prospect, a brush fire in Westport, a house fire on Bluegrass Parkway, a lawnmower fire in Countryside and a minor electrical fire at the Starbucks Crestwood.

Officials are hoping for a quieter week — and a speedy recovery for those injured.

That includes a Goshen woman who remains in critical but stable condition after a two-car crash Friday night on Goshen Lane.

Just before 6 p.m., two cars collided head-on between Cliffwood Drive and Valley Drive. 

Three people were transported to area hospitals, including one by helicopter transport. 

Crews from North Oldham Fire’s Goshen and Skylight stations responded, as well as Oldham County EMS, Oldham County Police and Air Methods helicopter crews.

Neighbors say it is an example of how narrow and dangerous Goshen Lane is and hope officials will consider widening the road.

Earlier Friday, another head-on crash sent a La Grange woman to the hospital with a severe leg injury. 

Around 1:45 p.m., crews from Ballardsville Fire and OCEMS responded to a two-car crash on Ky. 53 near the Oldham-Shelby county line.

The driver of the Jetta had to be extricated and was transported by helicopter to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No one else was injured.

A helicopter transport was also called for a single-car crash in the Bridge Hill section of Ky. 146 Thursday morning.

A Dodge pickup truck went off the road, overturned and landed on a brick fence.

Crews from South Oldham Fire Department and OCEMS responded. 

SOFD Chief Eddie Turner said it took 40 minutes to extricate the driver — the truck was laying on the drivers side with the cab crushed in.

Air Methods helicopter transported the driver to a local hospital. 

And a yacht returning to a Prospect marina exploded midday Thursday with four people on board. 

Heavy black smoke billowed above Ky. 1793 and U.S. 42 as flames quickly swept through a boat docked in the 2000 block of Justin Cove. 

Crews from North Oldham, Harrods Creek and Westport fire departments battled the blaze for more than an hour. As the flames were extinguished, the boat came to rest at the bottom of the six-foot-deep marina.

Officials at the scene said four people on board at the time of the blast include Randy Powell, owner of R&R Marine; an unidentified man; and a husband and wife who purchased the boat at the end of summer. 

According to R&R’s website, Powell has been repairing boats for 20 years and has spent much of his life on the water. 

The group had just fueled the boat for winter after a training ride.

According to fire department officials, the engine stalled as the vessel entered the marina. When the driver attempted to restart it, the vessel exploded into flames. 

The impact of the blast tossed the woman from the boat. She suffered a leg injury and was treated at an area hospital. 

Three men on board escaped the explosion without injury. 

Officials believe fuel vapor led to the explosion, which caused damage to two other boats in the marina. 

Firefighters attacked the blaze using fire boats and personnel working from the dock. 

One NOFD firefighter was treated on the scene by EMS for an allergic reaction, possibly to the fiberglass of the boat.

Crews from NOFD joined those from La Grange and Ballardsville to fight an early-morning house fire on Bluegrass Parkway Nov. 28.

Around 12:15 a.m., La Grange and Ballardsville crews arrived at a home in the 1400 block of Bluegrass Parkway where a chimney fire had spread to the porch and other parts of the home.

Homeowners said they awoke to smoke alarms, smoke in the basement and a fire in the chimney wall on the main floor.

No one was injured although the home did sustain smoke and water damage.

Email us about this story at:
tharris@oldhamera.com.