FORT MITCHELL -- Gasoline fumes ignited by a water heater caused a fire Tuesday at the Drawbridge Estates that heavily damaged the maintenance building and burned a worker.
David Parker, 23, a landscaper at the hotel, was listed in fair condition at University Hospital in Cincinnati with second-degree burns over 45 percent of his body. He was pulled from the building by co-worker Billy Smith.
"Billy Smith pulled Parker out of there and put out the flames on his clothes," said Jim Willman, Drawbridge vice president for operations. "We feel he probably saved (Mr. Parker's) life. Dave had burns on about 45 percent of his body but didn't have any burns on his face."
The heavy rain early Monday morning that flooded the basement of the maintenance building is also to blame for the blaze, according to hotel officials.
"The basement of the maintenance building was full of water," Mr. Willman said Tuesday. "We had oil and gasoline from the equipment in the basement mixed with the water."
Mr. Parker, who is also a student at Northern Kentucky University, was working in the basement of the building Tuesday morning, cleaning mud from the floor.
"There were gasoline vapors in the basement, and they were ignited when the hot water heater came on," said Capt. John Hehman of the Fort Mitchell Fire Department.
Billy Smith
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Mr. Smith, who has worked at the Drawbridge for about 15 years, according to hotel officials, did not wish to talk about his experience in saving Mr. Parker from further injury. "He's upset and just doesn't want to talk about it," Mr. Willman said.
A Crescent Springs firefighter was treated for minor burns, and a Fort Mitchell fire fighter received a minor cut. Edgewood fire and EMS units also responded to the fire.
Capt. Hehman said his department had not determined a damage estimate as of late Tuesday, and Mr. Willman said hotel officials didn't have a damage figure.
"One thing we know we lost was the only original full set of plans for the hotel," said Mr. Willman, who has worked at the Drawbridge for 26 years. "They were in the office above the area where the fire started, and they burned up."
The fire did no damage to the hotel and guests were unaffected.
