July 15, 2015 - The Center Fire Department was dispatched to an early morning fire on FM 417 Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at the residence of Joyce Kirkley at 2:48am.
When the fire first occurred at 2am, Kirkley could not make a phone call from her home and walked in the dark through rough terrain to the roadway, and then on to her son Richard Kirkley's house nearby.
The house was engulfed in flames, and partially burned to the ground, when firemen arrived at the residence just over 1/2 mile from U.S. 96. The fire was threatening to encroach on the surviving back portion of the house. The firemen worked to extinguish the flames and focused their attack on the rooms which remained standing.
As the firemen were battling the fire, assistance of the Shelbyville Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) was requested in the way of a tanker truck of water. Once the fire was knocked back and the imminent threat against the remaining rooms was delayed, remaining resources of water on scene were used sparingly until SVFD arrived.
Once SVFD fireman Luke Matthews arrived on scene with the tanker, the firemen continued to barrage the fire with water until it was extinguished. The firemen returned to the station at 6am.
