By Ari Bloomekatz
Enquirer staff writer

LUDLOW - A four-alarm fire in Ludlow destroyed a duplex and left a six-month old baby in the hospital Friday.

Ludlow Fire Chief Terry Bandy said the fire at 36 Carneal St. started at 6:40 p.m. and quickly spread to the other side of the duplex.

Firefighters were told a baby was in the house when they arrived, Bandy said. The baby girl was still breathing when rescued from the home and was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The girl's name and condition were not available; nor were the names of her parents, who were at the hospital late Friday, Bandy said.

Leslie Hurst, 39, who lives three houses from where the fire started, said she saw black smoke after coming out of her house.

"(I thought), 'Oh my God, my house is going to burn,'" Hurst said.

The occupant of the other half of the duplex, Angel Siemer, 39, said she ran outside when she saw the fire had started on the unit next door.

"It's like watching it on TV and it's happening to somebody else," Siemer said. "I was just grateful that my children were not here."

Authorities said the fire caused about $75,000 worth of damage, destroying the building.

Bandy said it took firefighters around an hour to get the fire under control. At least three firefighters were taken to the hospital for symptoms of heat exhaustion.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and authorities said an arson investigation unit had been called to the scene.

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E-mail abloomekatz@enquirer.com