LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville family is heartbroken after losing three loved ones in a weekend house fire in the Crescent Hill neighborhood.
Thomas Leonard said not even war could have prepared him for this major loss.
"It's the toughest event this family has ever encountered. The first minute I'm up and the next I'm balling," he said. "I've seen death, but when it's somebody that close to home to you, It's a new ball game."
Thomas says his brother, William Leonard, was his best friend. The two served alongside each other in the Gulf War and returned to their mother's embrace on Kennedy Avenue.
Sadly those memories were washed away after a fire broke out Sunday night. Thomas says the fire started on the second floor of Linda Wood's home, while his brother was walking the family's dog.
Once William noticed smoke coming from a window, Thomas said he immediately ran back to save his mom and wife, Rebecca.
"He could've stayed out and live, but he didn't do that. He did not do that," he said.
Thomas said firefighters found his brother, mother and sister-in-law on the steps inside the house. The three were then taken to UofL Hospital where they later died.
Though it's excruciating to say goodbye, Thomas said he must remain strong as he prepares to send them home.
"I'm just trying to keep it together enough to get the things done that I got to get done. And then I get to cry a little bit," he said.
The Louisville Fire Department Fire and Arson Investigators did not find any signs of working smoke detectors in the home. The cause is still under investigation.
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