LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) -- An early morning fire inside a homeless tent in downtown Louisville left two people displaced and a number of homeless outreach volunteers asking the city for another solution.
The fire was called into first responders just before 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Officials report it started with a sterno can, which is an emergency heat source. The sterno leaked to nearby items and then spread to a propane tank, which caused the explosion.
Luckily, the two people inside the tent were able to escape uninjured. But most of the belongings inside the tent were ruined.
Homeless outreach volunteers were at the scene of the fire hours later, working to replace lost tents and blankets and check in on the others who call the camp home.
"I'm grateful. Very, very, very grateful that at least everybody got out alive”, Wendy Manganaro with Fed with Faith, said.
Manganaro was at the camp only hours before the fire, checking on the people who live there because many won’t go inside. Each person has their own reason why, but some don’t want to leave their personal belongings and there is no room at local shelters to take them with.
"To us--we're like--leave the belongings, go inside but when it’s all you have it feels really, really important to you”, Manganaro said.
She said the lack of storage is a big reason why people choose to stay outside.
Manganaro said, "They still don't have places to put their stuff. When you pan through you'll see three extra tents and all they're holding is their stuff."
The good news is that storage spot is in the works.
City officials updated Metro Council Wednesday afternoon with news of lockers that will go inside storage pods, in a parking lot near Wayside. The lockers were donated by TARC and have not been moved yet but officials are hoping to have the storage option up and running by the second week of February.
That option will allow people experiencing homelessness to safely store their belongings when they go to job interviews, doctors appointments or inside a shelter.
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►Contact reporter Shay McAlister at smcalister@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Shay) and Facebook.