Two Die in Kan. Apt. Fire; Detector Had No Batteries

Feb. 18--Two people died Friday morning in a Shawnee apartment fire in a unit where the battery had been removed from the smoke detector.

They were identified as 21-year-old Jay'd Griffin and 23-year-old Jamaur Smith.

Shawnee Fire Chief John Mattox said the cause was food burning on an electric stove. The two died of carbon monoxide toxicity and were pronounced dead at the scene.

The fire was reported about 5:30 a.m. at the Carlyle Apartments in the 11600 block of West 75th Terrace. When firefighters arrived, they saw no flames and only a light haze of smoke in the hallway. Crews forced their way into a first-floor unit where the smoke was coming from.

A man, later identified as Smith, was found on the floor of the living room. A woman, Griffin, was on the floor of the bedroom.

Mattox said the automatic alarm in the hallway outside the first-floor unit was working and sent a signal to the fire department about the same time as a resident called 9-1-1. The management of the apartment complex last October had installed a new battery in the smoke detector inside the unit where the fire occurred.

A neighbor across the hall from where the fire occurred said she was at her computer when she heard the alarm. Smoke entered her apartment when opened her door so she grabbed her three kids and they all exited the building.

No other injuries were reported, and all other residents were allowed to return to their apartments.

--Matt Campbell, [email protected]

Copyright 2012 - The Kansas City Star, Mo.