5 dead in apartment fire in Maysville

MAYSVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) – Two adults and three children are dead after a fire in Maysville early Tuesday.

Police identifying the victims as 68-year-old Larry Brickels, 35-year-old Lori Doppelheuer and her three children: 10-year-old Christopher Kearney, 3-year-old Eagan Hargis and 20-month-old Kieran Hargis

Maysville Fire Chief Kevin Doyle says, of that same family, two other children and their father survived. Doyle said the father was in and out of the house several times trying to rescue his family members. Early reports indicate the mother was also seen going in and out of the building.

The fire was first reported around 1 a.m. Tuesday at a home in the 200 block of West Second Street and when firefighters arrived the home was already engulfed in flames when they arrived.

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It was very evident that [the mother and three children] were trying to get out,” Doyle said.

The fire spread quickly to five other homes in the set of row houses on the block. Firefighters called in other departments from nearby cities to help bring the fire under control.

Rescue crews were able to reach Brickels and transported him to Meadowview Regional Medical Center. Firefighters say he injuries were too severe and he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Kentucky State Patrol arson investigators were called in to investigate the cause of the fire. They ruled the fire as accidental, but didn’t release how the fire was started.

There were no working smoke detectors in the building where the family was found, Doyle said. One smoke detector was found in the a child’s room, but the batteries were not inside it.

“We’ve never had a five-count fatality (fire) in Maysville,” Doyle says.