Kansas City, Mo. — A mailman risked his life Tuesday night to warn people of a fire at their Kansas City, Missouri apartment building.
Quinton Neal said he was near the 5200 block of Independence Avenue when he saw smoke and then fire burning from the window of a three-story apartment building. When he noticed someone in the top window, he turned around — and people in the window saw that happen.
‘I kicked out the window and shouted, ‘Help, help!’ And I see him drive by and he stops,” said Shannon Holm, who was trapped in the apartment. “Next thing I know, he’s up the fire escape and pushing in my windows. And he was there for us, and I’m glad he was.”
Neal said he parked the UPS vehicle in front of the building, then ran to the door and kicked it open, yelling, “Hey, is anyone here? Where are you, where are you?”
He heard someone yelling from the top floor to get to the fire escape.
“When I saw them through the window, I tried to pull down the fire escape,” Neal said. “But the fire escape, it was stuck. So I jumped off the wall and up the fire escape to help them out the window.”
Neal helped one person down, then helped Holm and Holm’s dog get out, and finally tried to help a woman down – but she was afraid of heights.
“I saw the neighbor with a roof ladder, so I ran over with the roof ladder and brought the roof ladder next to the fire escape,” Neal said. “And I climbed up the roof ladder, helped her up the ladder and helped her down. And all the time I helped her, I said to her, ‘Everything will be fine. I’m here.'”
Neal said that with his previous law enforcement background, if he sees someone in danger, he helps them. He has been working with the postal service for over a year and said this incident was just another way of helping people.
“With the post office, you help people get their medicines, you help people pay their bills, you help people do other things,” Neal said. “You don’t come to work thinking, ‘Hey, I can save some people from a fire.’ But that was just part of the job.”
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Three children jumped to safety and firefighters rescued two men as fire spread through the East St. Louis apartment building. MIKE KOZIATEK DECEMBER 1, 2019 BELLEVILLE NEWS-DEMOCRAT
Fire tore through the East St. Louis apartment building Saturday morning. KMOV SCREENSHOT
Neighbors used a blanket to catch three children who jumped from a burning apartment building in East St. Louis Saturday morning and firefighters rescued two men from the roof of the two-story building, the East St. Louis Fire Department reported.
No serious injuries were reported and all 25 people in the building escaped.
Assistant Fire Chief Derrick Burns said one man who had jumped from the building was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Since the building at 501 St. Louis Ave. is so close to the MetroLink tracks, the fire department asked Metro to shut down the trains between the Fifth and Missouri Station and the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Station. MetroLink passengers had to take a bus between the two stations for a 20-minute delay but full service resumed in the afternoon.
Burns said the tracks were closed because the fire department had to reach a structural engineer to make sure the building wouldn’t collapse onto the tracks.
The tracks also had to be closed because a water hose crossed the tracks so firefighters could attach it to a fire hydrant on the other side of the tracks.
The cause of the fire is not known, Burns said. The blazed was reported at 6:30 a.m. and the building was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. Firefighters had responded to the building at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday for a trash can fire but that fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived. Burns said a search was completed at the time and the building was deemed safe.
Burns said the apartment had 20 residents and five visitors at the time of the fire.
A ladder was used to rescue the two men from the roof of the two-story building.
2012 IFC 1104.16.5.1 Fire escape stairs must be examined every 5 years ,by design professional or others acceptable and inspection report must be submitted to the fire code official.
IBC 1001.3.3 All fire escapes shall be examined and/or tested and certified every five years by a design professional or others acceptable who will then submit an affidavit city official.
NFPA LIFE SAFETY CODE 101 7.2.8.6.2 The Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) shall approve any fire escape by Load Test or other evidence of strength (Certification).
OSHA 1910.37 Exit routes must be maintained during construction, repairs, alterations or provide alternative egress with equivalent level of safety. (permit issued if egress is certified or with egress scaffolding)
Missouri Code
The Local Codes aren't available right now, we are working on it and will have them soon!
KANSAS CITY, KAN. -- Three firefighters were injured when a floor collapsed while they were putting out a house fire in Kansas City, Kansas. The fire happened just before 3 a.m. Sunday morning in a vacant home located in the 1600 block of North 7th Street.
Thankfully all three first responders are alive and out of the hospital at this time. Those who saw this early morning fire say it lit up the whole block.
“I was just looking out my window in an instant and I just heard the ambulance come and the firefighters and then I looked out again and it was on fire out of nowhere,” said Latrice Paul who witnessed the fire.
Charles Banks lives near the home that caught fire and says his wife called 911 when they first noticed flames.
“My wife thought it was raining or something, a crackling sound and when she looked out the window it wasn’t raining it was fire and she just said call 9-1-1 the house is on fire next door,” he explained.
Banks says the home next to his has been vacant for at least a decade. The fire made him a little nervous because there’s only about seven feet of space between the two homes.
Firefighters arrived within minutes and were able to get the blaze under control pretty quickly, but when they were putting out hot spots on an upper floor when it gave way. Four firefighters fell to the first floor.
Two were taken to the hospital immediately from the fire scene, while a third was taken to the hospital some time later.
“We had an incident where part of the second floor collapsed and a couple firefighters had to go to the hospital with minor injuries,” said Chief Morris Letcher, Battalion Chief with the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department.
Fire officials say they train for structure collapses, but work hard to avoid them.
“It’s scary, as an incident commander you just have to try to prepare and try to be mindful of things that can happen when you’re at a fire. Due to our training, we look for signs to give us a heads up as far as if that might be possible,” said Letcher.
But given the condition of the home, that was difficult.
“Vacant buildings always present challenges in a sense, you never know who’s been in there, what type of condition the floor is in, the roof and the structure, how long it’s been vacant and things like that,” Letcher explained.
All three firefighters involved in the collapse are now home from the hospital.
“That was a good thing because that was my main concern, I was asking the guy, 'is everybody okay?' and he said, 'yeah' so that was good,” said Banks.
Fire officials estimate there's about $35,000 worth of damage at the home. They’re working to determine an official cause.
Amber Coleman, in gray sweatshirt, looks Wednesday morning at what remains of the steps and porch of her home.
McDonald woman, children, boyfriend forced out of burning duplex
A man on his way to a gym to work out early Wednesday alerted residents of a McDonald duplex it was on fire after spotting flames shooting out near the rear entrance.
Amber Coleman, her two daughters, ages 3 and 6, and her boyfriend had to climb onto a porch roof of the duplex at 110 North St. to escape the flames. A neighbor put a ladder up to the roof to rescue them. The children were off the roof when McDonald firefighters arrived to rescue the adults.
Bernie Dhanse, identified as the owner of the duplex by McDonald police, was able to escape from his first-floor apartment.
“I woke up and some guy was pounding on the side of the house,” Coleman said. “The stairs in the back were the only entrance to the apartment. All I could see in the back were smoke and flames.
“I just had knee surgery,” she added. “I didn’t have time to grab anything.”
McDonald fire Chief Terry Kerr said because of limited manpower, firefighters focused on getting the residents to safety before battling the flames.
Firefighters arrived at the scene minutes after getting the call just after 6 a.m.
Kerr said a state police fire marshal will investigate.
“I believe it started on the back porch,” Kerr said. “We were able to contain the damage to the porch area and kitchen.”
Firefighters were able to quickly put out the fire, but it was intense enough to melt the siding of a neighboring duplex on Grant Street.
Assisting at the scene were firefighters from Mt. Pleasant Township (Hickory), Midway, Cecil Township (No.3) and Sturgeon. No injuries were reported.
Source: By Kathie Warco, Observer-Reporter.com Nov 29, 2017 Updated Nov 29, 2017
https://www.wcbi.com/fire-escape-plans-apartments/
GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Two big fires at two apartment complexes destroy people’s lives this past weekend, but no one died.
One happened in Starkville and the other in Vernon, Alabama.
It was a close call for residents, but it’s why firefighters say you should have an escape plan.
You might think living in an apartment would mean you need a different escape plan than a house, but that’s not necessarily true.
Firemen say all fires have similarities and both places have similar escape routes.
Most apartment complexes have one common stairwell through the middle of the building with units on each side.
Some residents wonder how they would escape if the stairs were ever cut off by fire or falling debris.
“I think until it happens to you, maybe you don’t even, you know, think about it at all,” says Laura Emelio.
Emelio has been living on the second floor of Franklin Apartments in Columbus, for five months.
It’s the first time she’s lived on a top floor and now, she also has to worry about Luna.
“This is the only way out, so you know, if the fire was coming up through the stairs, I would have to jump out through the window or something, because you know, this is the only exit.”
Starkville Fire Marshal Mark McCurdy says whether you live in an apartment or a home, there’s always two ways out to escape a fire.
“Obviously, your first way out is going to be through your main entrance, whatever that is, your front door if you will, and typically your second way out is a window, a bedroom window, or something of that nature.”
McCurdy says once you get to a window, try to let someone know where you are.
“Try to get a fireman’s attention, you know, maybe hang a sheet out of the window, throw something, even throw something out of the window just to get somebody’s attention, so if there’s time, then they can put up a ladder or some sorts like that, and climb up and get you down safely.”
McCurdy tells residents if there’s no time, they need to jump and try to land on anything that could soften the fall.
“I have heard to try and roll into it. That is something I have heard about, you know, when you are jumping, to try and not catch it all on your feet, so I guess that’s what I would do,” says Emelio.
McCurdy suggests to buy a throw over fire escape ladder if you live on a second story or higher.
Two adults and a small child died in a house fire Sunday in the 2000 block of North 43rd Street.
Six people were inside the one story frame home at 2016 N. 23rd St. Three made it out alive, but three people — a 27-year-old pregnant mother, a 4-year-old boy and a 32-year-old male — were trapped inside and died.
East St. Louis Fire Chief James Blackmon identified the dead as: Kendra Williams, 4-year-old Jayden Harris, and Chantez Reynolds.
Corey Burries, who owned the home, said she, three adults and two children were inside .
“I was asleep. My grandson was screaming fire. I opened my bedroom door. The smoke overwhelmed me. I let up my window and threw him out. I started to climb out of the window. I was calling my daughter and her fiance, telling them to come to the fire escape, which is outside of my bedroom window. They never came,” Burries said through tears. She said they were in a back bedroom.
One family member had to be restrained by other family members as he tried to get to the burning house. Several family members said neighbors tried to get in to help, but were overcome by the thick smoke that was raging inside of the burning structure.
East St. Louis Assistant Fire Chief Todd Hill said the call came in to the fire department at 1:42 p.m. Sunday reporting “people trapped inside.”
“When we arrived, about five minutes after the call came in, we learned that a couple of people had gotten out,” Hll said. “The house was a big ball of fire when the crew from Engine House 422 arrived on scene. They immediately looked for a point of entry and tried to knock the fire down. There was a lot of fire.”
Hill, who has been fighting fires for 25 years, said he has seen some pretty bad ones and this was among them.
A crew from Engine House 426 also battled the blaze.
Hill praised the work of the six-member crew. “Whenever there are people trapped inside, the guys do everything they can to get everyone out alive. They did a tremendous job. Unfortunately, though, three people did not make it out,” Hill said.
He said the bodies were inside of the house in a bedroom. Hill said he didn’t know where the fire started or what may have caused it. A member of the Illinois State Fire Marshal's office was on scene.
WHENEVER THERE ARE PEOPLE TRAPPED INSIDE, THE GUYS DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO GET EVERYONE OUT ALIVE. THEY DID A TREMENDOUS JOB. UNFORTUNATELY, THOUGH, THREE PEOPLE DID NOT MAKE IT OUT. East St. Louis Assistant Fire Chief Todd Hill
Smoke was still coming from the roof at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Hill said firefighters were able to extinguish the fire in an hour, but the crews would remain on scene checking for hot spots.
Burries and other family members stood across the street from the burned house hugging and crying. Some in the large crowd said, “Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” As the news spread more people came rushing to the scene with looks of horror on their faces asking others if it were true. They wanted to know if their loved ones, in fact, had died in the fire. When they learned that they had, some let out loud screams.
Janice Williams, 25, Burries’ daughter, was inside the house when the fire started. She made it out with her mother and 1-year-old son. Jayden who died in the fire was also her son.
Kendra Williams was her sister. She was five months pregnant, Janice Williams and other family members said. Chantez Reynolds was Kendra William’s fiancee. Like her mom, Williams said she woke up to her son screaming “fire.”
Williams said the smoke was so intense that she nor her mother knew where her sister was.
Kendra Williams worked at Walmart in Granite City, Janice Williams said.
She said her son was really smart and was very good with computers and telephone technology.
Janice Williams, while watching the first responders get ready to bring the bodies of her family members out, said, “I’m not ready. I’m not ready.” She covered her face with her hands.
She said her son, who she knew would grow up to be somebody, won’t get that chance because his life was cut short.
She said he didn’t get the chance to even go to school. Williams said her son was a bubbly individual.
And Kendra several family members said, was a “really sweet person.”
Several members of the family had just gathered at the home Saturday night, family members said.
The family didn’t have any insurance. Family members said they are homeless now and will need some place to live. They will also need help paying for the funerals.
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