Fire at Shively apartment building believed to be accidental

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LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - More than a dozen families are without a home after a Shively apartment building caught fire Tuesday night.

The fire sparked around 7:45 p.m. at the Broadleaf Arms Apartments on Broadleaf Drive, just off of Cane Run Road. Nearly 20 people are out of their homes, losing everything due to fire and water damage.

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James Glenn was sitting outside when he noticed smoke coming from the second story apartment.

"It was coming through the roof," Glenn said.

Immediately after, he saw a panicked neighbor opening the door.

"He crawled out the door because there was a bunch of smoke in there," Glenn remembered.

He said the flames scared him too, so he immediately called the fire department.

"We was beating on doors to help get all the people out," Glenn said.

Firefighters said that quick action, and the smoke alarms, may have saved lives.

Neighbors, like Andre Durham, are thankful. Durham lives in the apartments, but happened to be next door when the fire started.

"It was all smoke, and my son in-law was there with my grand kids," Durham said.

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Durham's cousin Melissa Harris lives in a neighboring apartment building. She said the chaos that followed the flames is something that's hard to get out of her mind.

"It was crazy," Harris said. "I just feel so sorry for the people who live here."

Fire officials told WAVE 3 News that the cause of the fire appeared to be accidental, sparked by a resident as they were trying to cook food. They also said that at some point, the building inspector will be letting people back in to see if they can salvage any belongings.

In the meantime, Durham said everyone at the complex is sticking together. They did get some help from the Red Cross, but he said he would like more help from the building's owner.

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"People lost everything, and a lot of these people are senior citizens that have no place to go," Durham said. "The place is boarded up, and nobody shows any compassion for them. That's what makes me mad."

WAVE 3 News was not able to reach the building owner for comment.