Eight people are rushed to area hospitals following a massive blaze at an apartment complex in south Louisville.
The fire broke out just before 3 a.m. Thursday at the Colonial Oaks Apartments off Southside Drive.
Out of the eight people hospitalized, one man was taken to University of Louisville Hospital and is in critical condition.
He lived right above where the fire originated.
Others living at the apartment are now wondering what's next, as many are now out of their homes.
"(I'm) still in shock. It's just unreal," said Thomika Butler.
Butler is thankful for her life, and grateful for her mother. Thursday morning, her mother woke her up as thick, black smoke started rolling into her apartment.
As a result, she is just one in a mix of residents now out of a home.
Cars are destroyed, and personal belongings are gone.
Lavola Jarboe's mother lost everything she had.
"And she was moving out Monday. Seventy years old starting all over again," Jarboe said.
Fire officials said the blaze began inside an apartment on the first floor of building 23.
The man inside was believed to be asleep when the fire started.
"When he was awakened, there was a fire in the living room, near the sofa area, (it spread) to the curtains on the window," said Louisville Fire Chief Greg Frederick.
The fire spread into the attic and to apartments nearby, sending eight people to area hospitals.
It was a frantic scene of panicked residents all trying to escape.
"Somebody had to drop their baby out of the window to save it. Because when they opened the door, the fire just came in," said Paula Gomez, who lived at the apartments.
The investigation into the exact cause of the blaze is ongoing.
The Red Cross is helping those residents who have been displaced by the damage.
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