KY Firefighters Rescue Two from Building Fire; Woman Charged

A Lexington woman has been charged with arson after she set fire to her apartment Saturday, resulting in the hospitalization and displacement of multiple people, according to the Lexington Fire Department.

The fire was reported to the fire department shortly after 7:40 a.m., according to Maj. Derek Roberts with the Lexington Fire Department. It happened at an apartment complex in the 2800 block of Ryan Circle.

Two people were trapped inside the building when firefighters arrived. Roberts said one was rescued from a second story window and the other was rescued from a second story deck. Both were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Three people were displaced as a result of the fire, according to Roberts. The Red Cross was assisting those people, Roberts said.

Melanie Hamblin, 40, has been charged with first-degree arson and four counts of second-degree wanton endangerment for allegedly starting the fire, Roberts confirmed. Hamblin set the couch, curtains and other furnishings inside her apartment on fire with a lighter, according to an arrest citation.

Four other people were in the building at the time of the fire, including one inside Hamblin’s unit, according to court documents. Hamblin admitted to starting the fire to arson investigators.

Hamblin was being held at the Fayette County Detention Center Monday on a $20,000 bond, according to jail records.

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