A pilot passing overhead might have helped save a Franklin County, Tennessee, resident from a fire spotted from the air. The resident was treated for injuries after being airlifted from the scene with burns.
Franklin County dispatchers got the call at 2:03 p.m. CST Saturday, according to a statement from the Keith Springs Mountain Volunteer Fire Department posted online. The Keith Springs community is in the mountainous terrain of the Cumberland Plateau in South Franklin County.
“Our crews were dispatched to a possible structure fire in the Keith Springs Mountain Road area called in by an airplane pilot flying over the area,” officials with the department said in the statement. “Upon arrival, we found a fully involved structure and a patient with minor to severe burns.”
Priority Ambulance was dispatched to treat the patient, who was airlifted to a burn unit at an undisclosed hospital, according to officials.
Contacted Monday through social media, Keith Springs Volunteer Fire Department officials said they didn’t know the name of the pilot who reported the fire. Officials were unable to provide the identity of the burn victim or their condition.
The Fourth District Volunteer Fire Department, Belvidere Volunteer Fire Department, Winchester Fire Department and Decherd Fire and Rescue worked with Keith Springs firefighters to initiate the battle to control the fire, officials said.
Keith Springs officials thanked their fellow firefighters, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and local citizens who came to the scene to help.
“The cause of the fire is under investigation,” officials said in the follow-up message.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.