Firefighter injured, multiple animals believed to be lost following house fire in South Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Fire Department responded to reports of a house fire in the 4600 block of Winterbrook Court Sunday that left one fireman injured and may have killed multiple animals.
The Columbia Fire Department responded to the call at around 2:40 p.m. for a residential structure fire in Thornbrook. Columbia Fire Captain Ryan Adams said the first of its crews arrived in the area within seven minutes.
"Our first arriving group of six arrived on scene and found very heavy fire coming from the backside of the structure," Adams said. "They quickly grabbed their own water supply and started an exterior attack, just until our units got on scene."
Twenty-two firemen were initially dispatched to the house with two additional crews arriving to help with the extreme heat and high winds.
Adams said crews were able to respond quickly because they were in the area for a smoke investigation which, "just so happened to be the same call, so they did get a head start on it."
Adams said crews had to be pulled from the interior to attack the fire from the outside to prevent the fire from spreading. The department is now working on "knocking out" any remaining hotspots from the inside on the upper floor.
One fireman was transported to a local hospital after suffering from extreme heat exhaustion, and multiple animals were reported to be in the house, though none have been recovered.
"We did have one firefighter that has been transported due to I think extreme heat exhaustion. He's on his way to the hospital as of right now," Adams said. "There were reports of some animals inside the structure and as of right now we have not been able to locate any of them as of yet."
Adams said they were not sure how many animals were in the house though Nathan Larry, who lives in the area, told ABC 17 News the family had three dogs that were lost in the fire.
"I was in my front yard and I smelled the smoke, I got up, and when I seen the fire and I talked to the people (homeowners) who told me they had lost three dogs in the fire," Larry said. "I offered them some water and I hugged them and everything, and I told them let God work."
Larry said he was glad the fire department was able to respond quickly, "it feels good, it feels good for a community to come together."
Adams added that the addition of Fire Station No. 11 is expected to be open in two months, and would have helped crews arrive at the fire quicker.
Adams added that he was grateful for the other stations' assistance, and asks residents to be careful as the dry and windy days can cause fires to spread quickly.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation at this time.
