A woman escaped an early morning house fire Monday in Louisville that heavily damaged a home, prompted a large multi-department response and forced a nearby elementary school to close for the day, fire officials said.
Firefighters were dispatched at 5:01 a.m. Monday to a reported structure fire at a residence in the 600 block of North Nickelplate Street, across from Louisville Elementary School, according to Louisville Fire Chief Rod Bordner.
The woman, the home’s lone occupant, had already made it outside and was on the front porch when police arrived. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation of possible smoke inhalation and was released shortly afterward.
Bordner said the resident woke up to the smell of smoke and discovered the home filling with smoke, with the smoke alarms sounding.
Fire crews also rescued the woman’s cat from the house.
Because of the extensive emergency response and equipment operating near the school, Louisville Elementary School was closed Monday.
Mutual aid agencies assisted at the scene, including Nimisillen Township, Canton Township, Osnaburg Township and Washington Township, which provided an air truck. Tankers from Osnaburg, Nimisillen, the Sandy Creek Joint Fire District and Marlboro Township were also called due to the large volume of water needed to fight the fire.
Bordner said hydrants in the area were functioning properly, but the residence sits on a dead-end loop and the size of the blaze required additional water resources, prompting the tanker response.
The house is believed to be a total loss, officials said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office and Louisville fire investigators.
