Columbia fire crews fight freezing conditions during structure fire Saturday
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Fire Department reports no current injuries following a house fire on Vandiver Drive in northeast Columbia early Saturday morning.
According to CFD Chief Brian Schaeffer, crews arrived at the 1300 block of Vandiver Drive a little after 1 a.m. to see fire coming out of the building's basement, up through the first floor and into the attic.
At the scene, crews tapped into two water lines in the front and back of the building. Firefighters were also seen using ladders to get into the upper floors of the building and cutting through the roof of the building to ventilate the building.
"That smoke is unburned fuel and if we allow it to stay in that box, it becomes not only toxic, but it also becomes a flash hazard. That smoke can combust and cause an instant flashover," Schaeffer said. "We get above on the roof and we create openings in that roof to allow that toxic smoke to go out."
The CFD reported issues with frozen ladders and slick spots due to below-freezing temperatures. City crews also stopped by to give firefighters sand and salt to help with treating the ice.
"Your heart rate's up and the water weighs about eight pounds per gallon, and we have people in there right now walking around, and they look like icicles are covered head to toe in ice just from all of the water that we've been using," Schaeffer said.
Crews also found one man and a dog inside of the building. The building owner confirmed with CFD that the building was unoccupied.
"It appears like there may have been some unhoused folks that may have been trespassing inside there, but we still can't confirm, right now, we were only able to account for one of those people," Schaeffer said.
Schaeffer added that the roof of the building was unstable and the fire made several holes in the main floor from the basement.
"It's unstable, it's not safe for us to be there," Schaeffer said. "Until we have daylight, we're able to get a better idea of the structural stability of this building, we're probably not going to put firefighters in there until we have those checks marked."
An ABC 17 News reporter arrived on scene around 2:15 a.m. and saw heavy smoke coming from a home in the 1300 block of Vandiver Drive. At least three Columbia Fire Department engines, four Columbia police cruisers, a Boone Health ambulance and an air truck was seen.
Air trucks are special fire vehicles used at the scene of long-duration emergencies. They can refill firefighters' breathing apparatus and provide bright lighting.
"There's only two of them in our system and they go to all of the working fires so that we're able to replenish our air supply here instead of having to go back to a fire station," Schaeffer said."
Another ABC 17 News reporter also saw smoke billowing over Interstate 70 near the area.
Boone County Joint Communications sent an alert around 1:30 that said Vandiver Drive near Parker Street was closed due to a fire incident. Drivers were asked to take a different route.
About 10 minutes later, BCJC said Vandiver Drive was also closed near Range Line Street due to the incident.
BCJC reported the road to be back open at 4:12 a.m.
The cause of the fire is being investigated by the fire marshal.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
