Woman who lost belongings in Louisville apartment fire reunited with priceless possession

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A little more than a week after a fire destroyed the 310 @ NuLu apartment complex in Louisville's Phoenix Hill neighborhood, a woman was reunited with an item from her apartment she never expected to get back.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 19, fire and smoke tore through the multi-story complex on South Hancock Street, forcing dozens of residents to evacuate with little time to grab their belongings.

One of those residents, Madeline Bridges, who lived on the fourth floor, said alarms were blaring when she was awakened by banging on her door. She immediately evacuated her fourth floor apartment, knowing she had no choice but to leave her cat and almost everything else behind.

Madeline Bridges and Capt. Donovan Sims — Madeline Bridges holds her slightly tattered but fully intact Doctor of Medicine diploma from the University of Mississippi as she stands next to Louisville Fire spokesperson, Capt. Donovan Sims at a fire station on E. Breckinridge Street on Feb. 29, 2024. (WDRB image)

"That feeling of hopelessness is something I hope I never feel again, honestly," she said.

Bridges recently moved to Louisville from Mississippi, with the goal of helping others as a doctor, working on her first year of residency at UofL Health.

The day of the fire, her diploma from the University of Mississippi was inside her apartment on top of a bookcase in the living room. She thought, along with several of her other belongings, it was now gone.

"I was not expecting to get anything back out of this," Bridges said.

But she was mistaken. Not long after we interviewed Bridges about the fire on Feb. 22, a firefighter contacted WDRB to let us know he found her Doctor of Medicine diploma at the scene and wanted to find her to give it back.

"Within our service, we do see a lot of tragedy day in and day out," said Capt. Donovan Sims, spokesman for Louisville Fire. "But there is a lot of compassion on the back side of that. We know that most people call us and see us on their worst day, and for us to be able to extend any type of compassion to them ... we make sure we do that."

Somehow that piece of paper, only protected by a small cover, survived the flames, smoke and water. It ended up outside of the building for a firefighter to find. Bridges was reunited with the diploma Thursday at Louisville Fire Station No. 9 on East Breckinridge Street, not far from the apartment complex.

"It's like not torn or anything," Bridges said. "Just a little bit of wrinkles and water damage."

Aside from the keys she grabbed before running out, it's one of the few things she has left from her apartment. And while it already meant a great deal, the feeling is multiplied now.

Madeline Bridges' diploma — Madeline Bridges holds her slightly tattered but fully intact Doctor of Medicine diploma from the University of Mississippi that was found on the street by a firefighter after flames tore through her apartment complex. (WDRB image from Feb. 29, 2024)

"All of the perseverance, the resilience that it took to get through it is just kind of showcased in what it looks like now," Bridges said.

Sims said once the flames are put out and hot spots are no longer a concern, firefighters work during the salvage and overhaul process to salvage what they can after fires.

"If we can find small pieces and be able to get them back to those people I mean, that's just that one positive light," Sims said.

Bridges said she's relieved to have the small piece of paper that represents a big part of her life.

"It honestly meant the world to me that I could have it back and still have that piece of Mississippi with me and of all the hardship and work that I put into it, it meant a lot," she said. "It meant the world."

After the fire, the apartment complex was determined to be too unsafe for anyone to re-enter. Crews began demolishing the building last week, and it is being dismantled piece by piece, including the parking garage underneath with many residents' vehicles still inside.

The site is now out of the hands of Louisville Fire, but demolition crews are still putting in the same time and effort to get personal items returned to people when possible.

Michelle Hallenbeck, another resident of the complex, had her car parked on the first floor garage. She showed up to the property Thursday just before crews uncovered it. While the car can't be saved, a worker brought out items from her glove compartment, where Hallenbeck was able to get personal paperwork and her passport back.

"(I'm) incredibly grateful," she said. "I mean, they've been working really hard at separating out everyone's personal items, and so I'm really grateful to everyone working over there for that."

Bridges, who had no hope of getting anything back from her apartment, said she was shocked when she learned her diploma was saved.

"I was really happy about it," she said. "I keep looking back on the experience and thinking it could have been so much worse."

Demolition underway at 310 @ NuLu apartment complex after a recent fire. (WDRB drone image from Feb. 29, 2024)

She said the amount of kindness shown to her has been incredible, with her program giving her time off, people offering their homes for a place to stay and making sure she doesn't have to worry about food.

"I don't normally say out loud the fact that it was a traumatic experience because I've seen really horrific things in the hospital — like the most horrific of experiences — and so me saying it was traumatic is me saying out loud that I was one of those people who's been through something horrific that you never think will happen to you," she said. "But you just pray that if it does, that someone will show you the kindness that you try to show to others."

She said only the fanciest of frames will now do for her newly recovered diploma.

"This will be my favorite possession that I got in there now," she said.

Bridges lost her cat in the fire. She went to the Kentucky Humane Society on Wednesday and brought home a new cat.

UofL Health and the University of Louisville have emergency funds dedicated to helping hospital staff, residents and university students. According to UofL, these funds have helped more than a dozen people impacted by this apartment fire.

To donate to hospital staff and residents, click here. To donate to students, click here.

Four people living at a Liberty Green duplex next to the apartment have also been displaced during this demolition. According to the latest update from the Louisville Metro Housing Authority, Liberty Green management has not received word that it is safe for the two households to return home. They are currently staying at a hotel.

Bridges said the Red Cross has also been helpful during this time. To donate to the Red Cross, click here.