Neighbors stunned after person rescued from house fire
By Norman Seawright
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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Investigators are working to determine the cause of a house fire on Monticello Avenue in Newburg that sent one person to the hospital early Tuesday morning.
The fire left neighbors shocked and grateful for the quick response by firefighters.
Frances Floyd was walking her dog when she noticed smoke rising from the home.
“I started to change my mind, but then something told me just to go ahead and walk the dog this morning,” Floyd said. “As I was coming down the street, I saw the smoke going up.”
Floyd immediately called 911 and tried to alert anyone who might be inside.
“I started hollering and saying, ‘Hey, is anybody back there?’” she said. Two men, including the boyfriend of another neighbor, Shantel Burks, stopped to help.
“We heard the windows, the glass breaking, popping on the windows, and the smoke was really coming out,” Floyd recalled.
Burks said she heard an explosion, and her boyfriend realized the house was on fire.
“He woke up, he was like, ‘Do you smell it?’ And I came out and said, ‘The house is on fire,’” Burks said.
Firefighters from Fern Creek, Jeffersontown, and Okolona responded to the emergency within minutes of the 7 a.m. dispatch. Assistant Fire Chief Dewayne Hutchens praised the swift action of his team, which contained the fire before it could spread to neighboring homes.
“No damage to the surrounding houses. The fire was knocked out fairly quickly, but there was some pretty moderate to severe damage inside the home,” Hutchens said.
While firefighters searched the home, they discovered a victim who had not been able to escape. The person was rescued and transported to the hospital.
“We were not alerted to their presence. We actually had to find them within the home,” said Hutchens.
“They’re good people. I see him cutting grass, doing his thing, and I love to see him,” Burks said.
“I just hope they’re okay, whoever was in there,” Floyd said.
Hutchens said that Metro Arson is investigating the fire but said foul play is not suspected. There is no update yet on the condition of the victim.
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