LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Earlier this month, law enforcement officers discovered a house filled with hazardous chemicals and explosives in the Highview neighborhood in Louisville. Since then, multiple agencies have worked to contain the house, and a controlled burn has been announced.

What You Need To Know

  • Some neighbors in the Highview neighborhood are concerned with protecting their property from the forthcoming controlled burn of two homes

  • Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, announced a controlled burn for a house found to have hazardous and explosive materials

  • The city has not set a date for the controlled burn and has reached out to the EPA for their input
  • Marc Hibel, who lived in the home, has moved to preserve the evidence inside his home and prevent the burn

While Louisville officials tried to diffuse concerns ahead of the controlled burn earlier this week, some neighbors in the Highview neighborhood continue to have lingering questions about how the controlled burn will occur.

“Two houses. Yeah. Well, catty-corner to the front of my property,” said Brandon Clark, who lives behind the now condemned house.

“I’ve only met him a couple of times. I’ve been here for 12 years. I met him several years ago. His dog got out one time and we returned it to him,” Clark said.

He’s describing his neighbor Marc Hibel, 53. Clark said he’s a bit “socially awkward.”

“He’s a little off, a little weird. But, you know, me and another neighbor across the street, we don’t ever think he had any malicious intent,” Clark said.

The possibility of an evacuation leading up to the controlled burn has Clark concerned.

“They didn’t really answer a lot of the questions that I have, which I don’t think they’re going to answer those questions. I think they kind of skirted around the questions as far as people that are going to evacuate, how they’re going to be reimbursed for their lodging,” he said. “Their suggestion was we’ll just stay with family or friends, which not everybody has that around here.”

Louisville officials are calling for a possible evacuation to conduct a control burn to the house on Applegate Lane. When that happens, LMPD Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said officers will safeguard homes in the area.

“You will have LMPD doing direct patrols in your area. We know how sensitive this is. We know that others will know that you are, that you have left your home. So you will have heavy LMPD presence in the area to guard your home. But we’re going to ask you too, if you do not have an alarm system or camera system in place, I’ll just ask you to just go ahead and get that done as well to help us,” Gwinn-Villaroel said.

But for Clark, he’s not too sure. He’s been doing surveillance and security for 23 years.

“They’re not going to watch all the houses. Our neighbors, a lot of us, don’t want to even leave and we may let some of the family leave, like my girlfriend and the kids, and they can leave. But I think a lot of us are going to stay and stick around just because we don’t want our houses to be open to the public for however many days,” Clark said.

Through his lawyer, Hibel has filed a motion to preserve the evidence and prevent the controlled burn.

In the nine-page motion, Hibel defends himself as “a former chemist with years of employment in the field.” Hibel said the materials are stored safely and the chemicals are stable that are inside the home.

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