Husband tried to save wife killed in Elizabethtown house fire

ELIZABETHTOWN, KY (WAVE) - Years ago, Elizabethtown resident William Plouvier lost his sense of smell while on the job. Little did he know the devastating impact that would have on his life years later.

Plouvier said he was working in the back yard of his home for about 15 minutes on Wednesday evening. It wasn't until his son stopped by his home that William noticed smoke was coming from inside, where his handicapped wife, Linda, was sitting in her wheelchair.

"He came down from around here and I'm back here on this ladder and he said, 'Dad, the house is on fire;" William said.

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William was stunned at the site of his home on fire.

"When he hollered for me, we both came over here and tried to get into the house," William said. "We were going to try and go through the patio door. She was sitting in the wheelchair beside the couch."

Linda and William Plouvier had been married for almost 25 years. A stroke left half of her body paralyzed.

"We thought we could get in here enough to grab the wheelchair and pull her out, but it was so hot," William said.

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William burned his hand on the back door. He and his son kicked it in but the smoke was too dark. Linda was trapped.

"We say once you get out stay out and that for the folks who are equipped to make entry into these types of deadly environments," Deputy Fire Chief Everette Roberts said.

Fire fighters arrived within minutes after William and his son discovered the fire, but it was too late.

Linda, the home, and the memories on the walls were gone. William was devastated.

"She loved people, it's pretty rough," he said.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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