One dead in Old Louisville house fire near Central Park

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- One person is dead after a house fire in Old Louisville near Central Park.

The fire was reported about 9:30 a.m. Monday at a three-story apartment unit in the 1400 block of South Fourth Street, near West Magnolia Avenue. When crews arrived they were able to evacuate several residents and put out the remainder of the fire.

"The fire department knocked on the door and said clear the apartment, and that's when I came outside," said Deandrae Hughes, who lives inside the apartment building.

Several of the residents weren't sure what was happening until they smelled smoke and saw fire crews.

"It's always a concern when it's your own apartment building and you live downstairs," Kenneth Hardin said.

Louisville Fire and Rescue Major Bobby Cooper said the person who died was found on the second floor of the apartments.

Crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly and evacuate the other residents.

Hardin lives on the first floor and said he wasn't too concerned when he first heard the smoke alarm. He said it often goes off when people cook in their small apartments.

"I didn't think nothing about it," he recalled. "So, I laid back for a minute. In about half an hour I just looked outside and saw a fire truck. That's when I opened my door and smelled a little smoke in my hallway."

Officials said there were, in fact, smoke detectors sounding off in the background of the initial call that came in to MetroSafe, but said that might not be the case inside the residence of the person who died.

“Most of the detectors were in other departments. We can’t verify that there was a working smoke detector in the apartment where the fatality occurred," Cooper said.

While an investigation continues into the cause of Monday morning's fire, residents are still shaken and reminding everyone to check their smoke alarms.

"It's very important," Hardin said. "It saves a lot of lives. You never know, it might be your next door neighbor's going off. Having that smoke detector might save a life."

Arson investigators are working to determine a cause.

The victim's name has not been released.