photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Smoke pours from the attic of a home at 1867 E. 1500 Road on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, as fire crews work on the scene.

Lawrence firefighters battled two fires Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning, one at a home just north of Lawrence and another at a compost facility in the city.

At 3:55 a.m. Sunday, firefighters responded to a call at the city compost facility, 1420 E. 11th St., where they found a large pile of compost burning, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical battalion chief Rob Fleeup wrote in an email.

Firefighters used water jets to fight the blaze from one angle but also called in an aerial unit to fight the fire from above, Fleeup wrote. City employees used a bulldozer to break up and spread the compost pile to make it easier to extinguish the fire, he added.

The fire was extinguished in 40 minutes with no injuries. The cause remains under investigation.

The compost fire was the second to require extra hands over the weekend, as firefighters responded Saturday afternoon to a house fire at 1867 E. 1500 Road after passerby reported smoke coming from the roof.

Lawrence firefighters called in additional water trucks and had help from Consolidated Fire District No. 1 to bring the fire under control in 20 minutes.

The residents of the house were not home at the time, and no firefighters were injured, Fleeup wrote. The fire remains under investigation, and there were no damage estimates as of Sunday afternoon.