RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX 18) — On January 3, around 9 p.m., Madison County EMS responded to a house fire. EMT Andrew Woolum quickly realized that the address listed was his home. Assistant EMS director Andrew Kilgore explains that Woolum's wife and children were home at the time.
Kilgore says, "When the call came out, he was the one who responded, because he was on shift when the fire happened. And his address came up and he had to respond to his own call — which is its own level of stress in itself. And then from there, things have happened rather quickly."
Everyone made it out safely. The Red Cross has helped the family during this stressful time. Madison County EMS is working with the community to raise money through a GoFundMe to help the family recoup their losses. It's more than doubled its goal, but they want to help the family as much as they can.
"People have just come out of the woodwork to help him and that's just a true testament to the type of person that he is,” says Kilgore.
From the road on Third Street in Richmond, most of the exterior of the multi-family home was undamaged. But looking through the Woolum's apartment window it’s clear how badly the blinds were burned. Kilgore says they lost everything inside. He says responding to your own home is rare.
He says, "I mean I can’t speak for Andrew Woolum, but I know for me as a father my first thought is are my kids okay? Next thought is, is my wife, okay? And then some distant thought is, am I gonna have a house to come home to?"
Kilgore says he doesn't know what the source of the fire was. He says he's proud of how this community has come together to help support a man who's served in this role for the last six years giving back to his own community.
"I am just extremely proud of the community that I serve because of this. I think it's one of the reasons that the employees of Madison County EMS find the enjoyment in their jobs that they do because this is the type of community that we live in, this is the type of community that we serve,” says Kilgore.
Madison County EMS is accepting community donations. Its assistant director says that the best way to contact them is through the Facebook page. Donations can also be made to the family’s GoFundMe page.
