Two hours after it was first reported, a house in Midtown St Joseph continued to burn, and fire crews were not sure if there were still victims inside.
The fire was reported at about 7am near the corner of 16th and Olive Streets.
There was one reported rescue, but the status of two other occupants remains unclear. Police say a victim is being treated at KU Medical Center.
“We’re not certain yet about casualties,” said Battalion Fire Chief Paris Jenkins of the St Joseph Fire Department.
“We have a report there may still be two individuals inside. We made a rescue attempt when we first got here and then as the crews were inside, things rapidly deteriorated. One firefighter had to bail out a window because it got so bad so fast.” Jenkins says that firefighter was not injured.
“We went defensive,” he added. “After we knocked down the bulk of the fire, we made a second attempt to go in and do rescue and recovery, but the floor was so soft we were only able to go in part way, and we had to pull our crews back out again.”
“So basically we’re doing what we can from the outside of the house.”
Jenkins says he’s pretty sure the home will be a total loss. He had no reports on any animals that were inside the house. Initial reports indicated there was a pet dog and a pet cat inside. A dog was recovered and resucitated according to witness reports.
The police department will work with fire inspectors as crews determine whether anyone perished in the fire, and what caused it.
By 10am, at least one of the trucks dispatched to the fire had returned to the station. But crews at the scene had still been unable to access some areas that were still burning.
Check back at St Joseph Post for updates as they become available.