Two children dead following apartment fire

Bowling Green, Ky. — Two young children are dead after an overnight fire at an apartment complex in Bowling Green.

According to the Bowling Green Fire Department, crews were dispatched around 2:15 a.m. Thursday to a reported structure fire at the Willow Creek Apartments on Shive Lane.

When firefighters arrived, officials say heavy flames were coming from the building. Crews immediately began fire suppression and search operations while calling for additional support. In total, 13 units responded to the scene.

Firefighters entered the apartment while the fire was still actively burning to search for anyone inside. During those efforts, crews located two very young children and carried them out of the apartment. Both children had died in the fire.

Bowling Green Fire Chief Justin Brooks said the loss is especially difficult for firefighters and the community.

“If you think back to our last six months in the city of Bowling Green, this marks the third child that we’ve lost in residential structure fires,” Brooks said. “The BGFD family is grieving with the family and the community. We look upon these kids as our own.”

A neighbor who lives next door to the family said the situation unfolded quickly in the early morning hours. The resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said she woke up shortly after 2 a.m. after hearing banging and noticing a faint smell.

Thinking she may have left something on in the kitchen, she said she walked toward the front of her apartment — only to see the window next to her door glowing bright orange.

When she opened the door, she said flames were already shooting across the doorway.

The neighbor said she immediately turned around, screaming for her children, grabbed her phone, and rushed to get them out. Her oldest child made it outside first, while she helped her youngest escape. She and her youngest child suffered burns and blisters during the escape.

As crews worked the scene Thursday morning, restoration workers were also seen removing fire-damaged belongings from the apartment.

Among the items was a charred aquarium that held a pet lizard named “Gummy.” Despite the damage caused by the flames, the lizard survived.

Fire officials say the fire is now under control, but the cause remains under investigation.