LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Two people are dead after a fire at a home near Algonquin Park.
The fire started around 3 a.m. Thursday on South 24th Street near Algonquin Parkway. Ned Taylor, a 13-year-old neighbor who lives nearby, told WDRB News he saw an orange glow outside his window. Taylor said he and his family ran outside called 911 and ran outside, at first thinking it their house was on fire. He also yelled for people inside the burning home to warn them.
"It started out as a small flame, and then when we was outside, it got really big," Taylor said. "And it was blowing a bunch of black smoke in the air."
Taylor said a family of four lived in the home.
Fire crews arrived five minutes after receiving the call to find heavy flames coming from the single-story home. One person, a teenage girl, evacuated the building. Another person, found in the bedroom, was rescued, according to Maj. Bobby Cooper with the Louisville Fire Department. Both were taken to the hospital. Their condition is not known.
Firefighters then found two other people dead inside the home, Cooper said. Those individuals have since been identified as 63-year-old Ronald Bush and 27-year-old Sierra Bush.
"When we have reports that the building's occupied, and there's a good chance that there's a rescue, our operations go one direction: and that's the rescue as the primary goal," Cooper said.
Taylor said he did not see the girl who escaped on her own, but recounted the scary sights he and his sisters witnessed. "My sisters heard her yell, 'Mama wake up!'"
It took 27 firefighters 38 minutes to bring the fire under control. The home suffered extensive damage, Cooper said, and a nearby home also had minor damage.
As of Thursday, the cause of the fire has not been determined, but we're told it may have started in the back of the home. Arson officials continue to investigate.
Cooper says it appears that there were no working smoke detectors inside the home. The Louisville Fire Department provides and installs smoke alarms to homeowners in Louisville.
"We can's stress enough the importance of smoke detectors," Cooper said. "The bottom line is that smoke detectors save lives. They alert you early, and let you know to get out of the house."
Coopers says everyone who does have a smoke alarm should test them regularly. If you don't have one, you can call 311 for a free fire safety check and to have a smoke alarm installed.
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