Source St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
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Sept. 11--Residents at City View Lofts had an early morning wake-up call Saturday when fire broke out in a third-floor apartment. Many St. Joseph residents know the Lofts at 201 S. 10th St. as the old St. Joseph Junior College.
"When I opened my hall door, I saw fire in my apartment," said Arthur Dawson, who lives in Apartment 312. Later in the morning, an ambulance transported Mr. Dawson to Heartland Regional Medical Center with symptoms of smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire remains undetermined, said Robert Blizzard, a fire inspector. Damage is estimated to be in excess of $20,000.
As the building alarms sounded, Joe Golden said he saw sparks falling outside his apartment window. Kimberly Knight didn't hear the alarm in her third-floor apartment.
"Opie, my Shih Tzu, had been barking and that woke me up," Ms. Knight said.
She grabbed her medicine bag and a leash for Opie, who she scooped up in her arms, headed downstairs and went out on the Charles Street side of the building.
Communicators alerted the Fire Department about 2:50 a.m. Police Department officers arrived with firefighters and both departments made sure the 56 residents in the brick, three-story building were evacuated safely.
Firefighters ran a single line into the building and up on the third floor to knock down the blaze in Apartment 312, said Mike Wacker, the acting battalion chief. Flames had broken through the southeast third-floor window and burned a hole through to the roof.
"I awoke hearing glass breaking and sparks outside the window," said George Kelsch, who has a second-floor apartment underneath the fire. Mr. Kelsch made it out of the building as water started cascading into his apartment.
The aerial platform of Truck 7, with two firefighters in the bucket, moved into position to flood the roof with 800 gallons of water per minute.
By 3:30 a.m., Mr. Wacker determined that the fire was out. Firefighters grabbed axes, pikes, power saws and gadgets to detect heat sources and worked to prevent embers from rekindling. After the building was ventilated, most residents were allowed to return to their apartments.
At 4:30 a.m., the Midland Empire chapter of the American Red Cross arrived to provide assistance. Residents in four units will be provided with shelter, said Karla Long, director of emergency services.
The last fire units cleared the scene at 6:02 a.m.
Marshall White can be reached at [email protected].
