LOUISA, Ky. -
Alex Prince has been part of the Louisa Fire Department for only two months. At about 2:30 a.m., he found out for the first time what it's like to wear 75 pounds of equipment during a summertime fire.
"It felt about 100 and some degrees in it. It gets you pretty hot," said Prince.
Prince is one of 40 firefighters to respond to the blaze at Dave's Auto Service in Louisa. Officials say temperatures inside the burning structure can reach 500 degrees and outside around 100 degrees. Although the fire broke out in the cool of the night in the heat of summer, heat exhaustion for firefighters is still a worry.
"We were allowed to take our jackets off, but we still had to keep our pants on and our helmet. It was still hot with the pants," said Austin Hudnall of the Louisa Fire Department.
"They kept throwing us bottles of water and telling us to drink it to stay hydrated and keep an eye on our guys to keep them hydrated because we don't want anybody to go down," said Capt. Josh Dillon of the Louisa Fire Department.
In addition to drinking plenty of water, firefighters rotated in and out in shifts battling the blaze and the other enemy which is the heat.
"You know it broke me down and everything. It just totally wore me out, but you have to keep going to help the guys out," said Prince.
Fire officials say luckily no one suffered from heat exhaustion because there were plenty of firefighters who responded to the blaze.
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