A Louisville detective helped evacuate residents during an apartment fire before getting treated for smoke inhalation and a burn.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville Metro Police detective is being credited for helping evacuate an apartment building near downtown Louisville following a fire.
Metro Police said the detective with the Criminal Investigations Division saw heavy smoke and residents panicking at the 550 Apartments in the 500 block of South 8th Street just after 1 p.m. Saturday.
Before firefighters and other emergency personnel arrived, LMPD said he went inside the building, and began clearing apartments to help residents get to safety.
According to the Louisville Fire Department, the fire’s origins stemmed from a pile of discarded belongings left by an evicted tenant. The fire had extended into a first-floor apartment through a window.
Firefighters got the fire under control in about ten minutes.
No one else was inside the apartment, but LFD said one adult and two children were displaced due to the fire.
The LMPD detective was taken to UofL Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and a burn to the forearm.
“We are grateful for his quick actions and courage, which contributed to the safety of residents during this dangerous situation,” Dwight Mitchell, an LMPD spokesperson, said in a statement.
LMPD has not publicly named the detective.
Further investigation into the fire determined that two young juveniles residing in the apartment complex had set the fire using a lighter found in the discarded belongings.
LFD said the fire was mainly confined to the exterior, eaves of the building and one apartment.
Smoke detectors were working at the time of the fire.
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