LOUISVILLE, Ky. --
Two firefighters were taken to a hospital for treatment after helping to rescue a man from a Louisville house fire Sunday morning.
The fire started at about 7:20 a.m. in the first floor of a home on South Jackson Street near E. Breckinridge Street, Louisville Metro Fire and Rescue Lt. Col. Glen Nally said.
Neighbor Kirk Drane said he was watching TV inside his South Jackson Street home when he smelled smoke.
"I smelled smoke, so I came to the front door and I see flames shooting out of the house," Drane said.
Three people were inside the home when the fire started. A man had to be rescued from the second floor via a ladder. Another man and a woman were able to get out on their own.
All three were taken to a hospital for examination. Their conditions are unknown.
"We had what appeared to be a gas-fed fire inside for some time. That made it even more difficult to fight, and we were concerned about some stability issues in the one story portion," Nally said.
The potential for a collapse forced firefighters to evacuate until it was safe to re-enter.
"There was a refrigerator in the front door -- that made access difficult, and a lot of different items throughout the house that made it difficult for our personnel to gain access where they needed to," Nally said.
Two firefighters were taken to University Hospital, Nally said. One was hurt when they slipped and fell, and another was being checked out by medical personnel as a precautionary measure.
The house sustained significant damage.
About 30 firefighters helped put out the flames.
Nally said it appeared that a space heater was the cause of the fire.
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