LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A child and a woman are dead after a house fire happened on Palatka Road Tuesday, according to Louisville Fire Department officials.
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office identified the child as 2-year-old Sapphire Attieh and the woman as 35-year-old Natacha Turner.
Palatka Road is near New Cut Road in south Louisville.
Louisville Fire Major Bobby Cooper said crews were at the scene in just three minutes. Neighbors said the home was even difficult to see.
"The smoke was so thick," Beverly Hollingsworth said. "You could hardly breathe."
Hollingsworth first saw it through the door at Epworth United Methodist Church, where she is an administrative assistant and secretary, across the street from the home.
"There was smoke all the way down the street, all the way out here, smoke was everywhere," she said.
She waded her way through the fog to see the home engulfed.
"And I've seen fires before," she said. "But I have never seen anything burn as fast as that house was burning."
At first, she described it as a spectacle; then, it was a reason to pray.
Cooper said bystanders told them there could be people inside the home.
Cooper said the fire started in the back of the home. They were able to get to Attieh in the front of the home and rush her to Norton Children's where she later died as crews continued to search.
"It was at that time they also located an adult victim that was deceased," he said. They found her in the back of the home, where the fire had started.
"It's sad, it's just sad," Hollingsworth said, "You feel helpless."
But, Hollingsworth found a way to help. She said Turner has two children and she's working to gather donations of clothing through their congregation to bring to the family.
The home is now uninhabitable. Cooper said they'll work with Red Cross to find housing for anyone who may now be displaced.
Officials say both causes of death are pending.
As the Arson Unit investigates the fire, Cooper said they did find a smoke detector. They'll try to determine if it was working at the time of the fire.
If you would like a fire inspection or to have a smoke detector installed in Louisville, you can call 311.
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