Boys and Girls Haven building reopens 9 months after fire

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A building that was home to several in foster care reopened Thursday, nine months after it was gutted by fire.

Leaders celebrated the reopening of the Boys and Girls Haven building on Klondike Lane on Thursday morning. They said it couldn't have happened without help from the community.

"This is amazing what the heart of Louisville has helped me to do to rebuild their lives in their initial needs, intermediate needs and now we've brought them home," Boys and Girls Haven CEO Read Harris said.

The building houses foster teens transitioning out of the system and into adult life. It caught fire in late-November, forcing more than a dozen of those teens out of the place they called home.

"I was in my room, my apartment. She started yelling, 'There's a fire!' I thought she was overreacting. I thought it was going to be a small fire," said Johnny Hutchcraft, who lived in the building. "But it was a big fire."

Since then, through various community partners, the Boys and Girls Haven has worked to get the space back open. GE donated the appliances for the building. Harris also credited the Kentucky Colonels and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield with their help during the recovery process

In total, the repairs cost roughly $700,000.