20 homeless after apartment fire

By Elliot Njus

Published April 20, 2007

Unattended cooking started a fire that left 20 people homeless and injured two firefighters Monday, according to a Columbia Fire Department news release.

The loss of the building is estimated at $1.2 million. Investigators estimate the loss of the building's contents will cost owners between $100,000 and $200,000.

MU senior Kathy Shelby, a resident of the apartment complex who lives in another building, said some residents have tried to retrieve belongings from what is left of the fire-damaged building.

"I've seen some of the girls there take whatever things they could salvage from the fire, and they had them spread out on the lawn," she said.

The fire at 1021 Ashland Road consumed the entirety of building 900 in the complex. The occupants of the apartment where the fired originated noticed the flames but did not have a phone with which to report it.

The release stated that the residents whose apartment the fire started in did not seem to know what to do when they saw the fire. It stated the residents visited the front desk of the apartment complex twice before finally reporting the fire to the management. When they did, other residents were already reporting smoke in the building.

By the time the fire was reported, it had already grown out of control and spread to the attic of the building. The first firefighters on the scene reported seeing smoke billowing from the building, but the blaze overtook the entire second floor of the building soon after, the release stated.

Two injured firefighters were treated for minor burns at University Hospital and released. According to the release, they are expected to return to active duty within the next several weeks.

The first fire truck to arrive suffered damage from the heat of the fire and is out of service until it can be repaired. The repairs are expected to cost $250,000.

The fire also damaged other equipment and destroyed several fire protection suits and three air tanks.