KCFD responds to major structure fire in downtown Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A huge building fire in Kansas City’s Old Northeast Tuesday evening blocked streets and sent a tower of smoke into the sky that could be seen from far across the metro.
The fire led to massive black smoke clouds that brought throngs of people out of their apartments to watch. Traffic in the area slowed as people leaned out of cars to get video.
Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins said the fire was fully involved when a fire captain spotted it from KCFD Station 10, which is about a block and a half away.
“After dinner, one of the captains at the station back here behind us to the south stepped outside with a cup of coffee, and saw the column of smoke, and they came up here on their own and immediately requested a full response,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins said the building was unoccupied and as of 10 p.m., no injuries had been reported. However, it is not uncommon in the area for transient people to squat in vacant buildings. Hopkins said they were unable to do a thorough search of the building before it became too dangerous to continue searching.
“They initially made entry, made it to the second floor,” Hopkins said. “The fire was too far progressed. They had to back out and go defensive.”
The defensive operation involved 10 fire trucks with aerial and ground hoses. They were able to keep the fire from spreading to a City Union Mission building next door.
City Union Mission said their building located next to the fire is a warehouse, not a shelter.
“At this time, there is no one occupying the building,” a spokesperson said. “Our security team is monitoring the situation as it unfolds. At this time, we have not sustained damage to our knowledge.”
After the fire was put out, another battalion chief indicated what remained was a shell with little of the second-story floor in tact. He said the department would be waiting for a Dangerous Buildings inspector to analyze the risks before they go inside.
This is a developing story. KCTV will update it as more information becomes available.
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