60 firefighters battled fire at Masonic Homes in Crescent Hill neighborhood
It was a close call at a Louisville senior living facility on Friday morning when firefighters responded to Masonic Homes Kentucky.
Many buildings make up the 82-acre campus off Frankfort Avenue in the Crescent Hill neighborhood, but the Louisville Fire Department said only one of them was damaged when it went up in flames.
Charred brick and holes in the roof can be seen on the three-story building in the 300 block of Masonic Home Drive.
A thick cloud of smoke filled the area just before 11 a.m. Friday.
"We are very fortunate that this independent living building was not occupied," said Nicole Candler, a spokesperson for Masonic Homes.
According to Candler, the building was undergoing renovation, so residents were not inside when the fire started. A construction crew first noticed the flames inside Clay Hall.
"This building did have workers inside. We were able to make sure all those workers were out," said Louisville Fire Captain Donovan Sims.
He said firefighters arrived within minutes and found smoke coming from the roof of the three-story building. It quickly escalated to a two-alarm fire, bringing in about 60 firefighters from the Louisville and St. Matthews Fire Departments.
"Whether it's a residential or a larger structure like this, the goal is to come here, save life and preserve property," Sims said.
The flames were out about an hour after the fire started, according to Sims.
The 비바카지노 Viva News Chopper flew over the damage as crews sprayed water from inside the attic.
Even though the flames had spread throughout the top floor, firefighters said there was no threat to the senior living facility's surrounding buildings.
"We did evacuate a nearby building just to reduce any smoke exposure for those residents, but all of those residents are safe," said Candler.
No injuries were reported among residents or construction workers.
While the building was not destroyed, firefighters said a lot of work will need to be done to repair Clay Hall, which was already being.
The Louisville Fire Department's Arson Unit is investigating the cause of the fire.