Early morning fire displaces multiple people in Lexington
Residents report that their building's smoke alarms didn't alert them during the fire
LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – Multiple people are displaced after a fire damaged three apartments early Monday morning.
Shattered windows, scattered debris, and charred walls lined the apartments at the MAA Village off Richmond Road. Officials confirmed that everyone escaped unharmed, but some residents say the fire alarms never activated.
Katlyn Barnes and Michael Punzalan, who lived on the first floor, recounted their frightening experience.
“My dog was just barking non-stop. He got up, and there was smoke,” Barnes shared.
Punzalan added, “I smelled the smoke and thought, ‘Oh shoot, did we leave the burner on or something?’ I went to the kitchen, turned the light on, and the apartment was full of smoke. I started coughing.”
The Lexington Fire Department reported that the fire started on the second floor, spreading to the floors above and below. Barnes and Punzalan emphasized that their smoke alarms failed to warn them.
“The smoke alarm didn’t go off which was pretty crazy,” said Punzalan, “Our apartment was literally full of smoke and it didn’t go off which was pretty crazy,”
“Right before we got out my bedroom window caught on fire so we got out,” Barnes said.
Debris from the fire also caused additional damage to their unit.
“Stuff was falling out of the second story right outside her window right there, and then it busted her window in, I guess the heat from the stuff falling or something, somehow the window busted in, her curtains caught on fire,” Punzalan said.
Paul Richards, District Chief for the Lexington Fire Department, said the second-floor apartment where the fire started is “completely a loss.”
“The third floor, they tore out a lot of the bedroom, but it will be a loss, they’ll be displaced for a while,” Richards said.
Chief Richards noted that the bottom-floor apartments had exterior damage.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation as crews assess the damage. ABC 36 has reached out to MAA Village and we waiting for their response.
We’ll update this story when we hear from the company.
