LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Two people are dead and another person is in the hospital in critical condition after a fire early Monday morning in the Chickasaw neighborhood.

The first call came in at 5:47 a.m., according to a news release from the Louisville Fire Department. Crews responded to reports of a fire "with the possibility of multiple rescues" in the 1100 block of Cecil Avenue, off Hale Avenue near South 42nd Street. 

"When we enter into a fire like that, we search for people. We never know if they're unconscious, if they're injured, if they're already deceased, so we get to them, we get them outside as quick as we can so we can immediately start medical care. Unfortunately as soon as they got the victims out, they realized that the two were deceased," said Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill.

People were still inside the burning 1.5-story home when firefighters arrived three minutes after the first call was received. Fire crews entered through the front door and second story window, where they found and removed three victims while fighting the flames from the inside with handheld hoses. 

"They were able to get out three victims right away, very rapidly, even despite the fire and smoke conditions," O'Neill said.

According to Louisville Fire, one adult and one child died at the scene. Another adult was taken to the hospital. 

Jo Redd lives a few houses down. She said she kept her daughter home from school Monday after witnessing the fire down the street. 

"I held her so tight this morning because she's just 10. She does not understand, but the world is forcing her to understand things that I'm not even able to put into words to soothe her yet," said Redd. 

She said this is rough, and she's continuing to pray.

"Those were our neighbors and we always saw them, always greeted each other. They had bought me some fresh fruits and veggies from the farmer's market a couple times this summer," Redd said.

O'Neill said the victims were found in different areas of the home, and were not in the same room. Officials said the child who died was a "school-age" child. 

"And like I said, all of our kids play together," said Redd.

O'Neill said other people were able to escape from the home. The names, exact ages, and relationships of the victims are not known at this time. 

By late Monday morning, officials said it's believed that the fire started in the front living room on the first floor, and may have had something to do with a space heater -- either combustibles igniting near the heater or an electrical malfunction -- but the exact cause is still unknown. 

Louisville Fire confirmed the fire was accidental. 

"The investigation will be going on for some time," O'Neill said. "We've got other agencies involved. That's one thing, that Metro agencies work very well together from the dispatchers that took the initial call to the police and EMS on the scene and then we've got arson and police working together on the investigation." 

O'Neill said there were working smoking detectors inside the home.

"This is just a lesson that smoke and fire are no joke, and it doesn't take much smoke that can actually stop a person," O'Neill said. "So if anyone ever does have any type of fire in their house, get out immediately. Don't try to fight it on your own, because it doesn't take much smoke to overwhelm a person."

O'Neill said it's important for families to have a plan to safely escape if there's a fire. 

It took approximately 24 minutes for 30 firefighters to bring the fire under control with multiple handlines.

No firefighters were injured when fighting the blaze, but O'Neill said dealing with fatalities can take a toll on mental health.  

"It's always very difficult, you know, our firefighters are forced to face all the ugliness that can happen, all the tragedies, and it's something they have to carry with them," he said. "But on that note, we actually have training going on today and tomorrow for our members to get a peer support group up and running so that we can not only kind of point people in the right direction to seek that mental health that they might need, but they can reach out to one another."

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.