Fireworks start grass fire in Rineyville

One Rineyville resident narrowly avoided disaster from the combination of dry grass and personal fireworks.

The Hardin County Sheriff’s Department and Kentucky State Police responded at about midnight Thursday to a report of a person in a truck setting off fireworks, such as bottle rockets and firecrackers, from a vehicle on Fuller Road, Sheriff Charlie Williams said.

The fireworks ignited dry grass in the yard of a Fuller Road property owner, he said.

Luckily, the owner was near the road’s 1800 block and noticed the fire, said Shane Crutcher, chief of Rineyville Fire Department.

Crutcher said less than an acre of the property burned, and the resident was able to control the fire before firefighters arrived.

Firefighters performed cleanup work on the blaze, he said.

Crutcher said the person who set off the fireworks that started the fire was engaging in dangerous behavior.

Crutcher urged residents with information about the incident to contact the sheriff’s department at 765-5133.

“That’s intentionally trying to start a fire,” he said. “That’s arson.”

The evening didn’t result in any other notable fires or injuries resulting from fireworks or dry conditions.
Employees in the Hardin Memorial Hospital emergency room reported treating no firework-related injuries, said Michelle Murphy, director of marketing and public relations for the hospital.

Burn bans have been enacted in Elizabethtown, Radcliff, Vine Grove and Hardin County. The bans originally did not prohibit the use of personal fireworks and were amended Thursday to include fireworks.

Amber Coulter can be reached at (270) 505-1746 or acoulter@thenewsenterprise.com.