WARRENSBURG — The Warrensburg Fire Department was called out to two fires Wednesday evening, March 3.
Crews were still working the scene of a structure fire in the 200 block of West Gay Street when a second call for a structure fire was called for the 600 block of Burkarth Road.
Crews were toned at 9:57 p.m. and arrived on scene at 9:59 p.m. to the Gay Street fire.
The fire was located in the basement.
Interim Fire Chief Doyle Oxley said the fire was low in the structure and the construction of the structure meant crews had to search for any signs of fire from the foundation to the rafters.
“We want to find the seed of the fire, get that put out and chase it as if it extended to the roof, which it did not,” Oxley said. “We got it stopped. We had smoke coming out of the rooms upstairs, but it was just running up the studs.”
Oxley said basement fires can be a bit difficult to access, but crews were able to utilize a cellar door.
The fire was extinguished at 10:25 p.m. and crews were working overhaul when a second structure fire was reported at 11:40 p.m.
WFD called in mutual aid support from the Johnson County Fire Protection District.
The WFD ladder truck, the largest vehicle of the fleet, arrived on scene at 11:44 p.m.
“We made it in a little over three minutes from that scene to the other in the biggest piece of equipment we got,” Oxley said. “And it helps, at 11 o’clock at night there’s not a lot of people on the road.”
The fire on Burkarth Road was contained in one room on the upper floor of the building.
Oxley said the sprinkler system activated quickly, minimizing damage and crews were able to extinguish the fire with a two and a half gallon pressurized can. Fire hoses were still rolled out for overhaul.
“The expense of that sprinkler system saved that building and the occupants therein,” Oxley said.
Residents of the building self-evacuated with the building fire alarm.
“I stepped into the hallway and (the alarm) was racketing down the hallway,” Ricky Clifton, building resident, said on scene. “I just poured out with everybody. … I like the excitement but I’m ready to go back to bed.”
Oxley said the damage at the Gay Street fire was not extensive but there was heat damage on the siding and burnt floor joists from the basement to the first floor.
The damage at the Burkarth Road fire was minimal, with some smoke damage and water damage to the room and the unit below.
Crews left the Gay Street scene at 2:52 a.m. and the Burkarth Road scene at 2:09 a.m. Thursday, March 4.
“We were done with the firefight, more or less, on the Gay Street fire so we were shuffling people to get them on a firefight on Burkarth Road,” Oxley said.
No injuries were reported for either fire. The cause of both fires is currently undetermined.
“We went almost a whole year without a house fire and now we’re about every two weeks,” Oxley said. “It’s been a pretty busy year so far.”
Oxley said outdoor conditions are dry right now and the city and WFD are not issuing burn permits at this time.
For more information about burn permits within the city limits, contact the WFD at 660-747-9136.
