NEWPORT, Ky. — Three homes were damaged in a fire in Newport Friday morning, according to Newport Fire and EMS.
Firefighters are on scene near 12th Street and Putnam in Newport and ask that people avoid that area.
Multiple agencies are responding to the fire, including Covington, Fort Thomas, Wilder and Southgate Fire Departments.
The smoke from the fire could be seen from a distance, including across the Ohio River.
WCPO's crew at the scene of the fire saw one firefighter who appeared to be receiving medical assistance, but that person did not seem seriously injured.
Newport Assistant Fire Chief Scott Kohrs said one firefighter was transported to a hospital for respiratory issues. He said high heats from the fire posed a challenge for firefighters as they worked to knock the fire down.
A woman was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Kohrs said. That woman jumped from a second-story window to escape the fire, he said.
Charles Burton, a neighbor who lives nearby, said he spotted the fire when it first started and saw the woman jump.
"The blaze was up in the air then, it was way up in the air," Burton said.
He said he pulled his car over and spotted a woman on the second floor of a home that had flames coming from the back of it.
"She was trying to get out but she couldn't get out, she had to jump to get out," Burton said. "And a young boy, I don't know what happened to him, he caught her. She jumped out the window and he caught that older woman and brought her and set her on this porch."
He said he also saw a second woman escape from the burning home out a side door.
Firefighters were dispatched to the fire around 9:25 a.m. Friday morning; by 11 a.m., the smoke from the fire could no longer be seen. Kohrs said when firefighters first arrived, there were heavy flames coming from the buildings.
Kohrs said fire crews will still be at the scene for several more hours while an investigation is done.
The Red Cross is assisting families who may be displaced by the fire; Kohrs said he believes two, possibly three, families have been impacted.
