Unattended stoves linked to two of three Jefferson City area fires
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Firefighters responded to three separate blazes in Jefferson City and Cole County in a span of four days.
The Jefferson City Fire Department responded to an electrical fire late Sunday night at the Hamilton Tower on Jackson Street. One person was hurt during the evacuation and the fire caused about $30,000 worth of damage.
JCFD Division Chief Jason Turner said the exact cause is under investigation. The fire's point of origin, he said, appears to have been a multi-plug adapter that was behind a piece of furniture.
On Saturday, the Regional West Fire Protection District put out flames at an apartment on Jaden Court in Cole County. A resident unintentionally left a pan of grease over a hot stove when they left the home briefly. The resulting fire destroyed the home, according to the district's chief.
"(The resident) came back (to the apartment), she heard the smoke detectors going off, opened the door, full of smoke and fire," said Jack Brade, chief of the Regional West Fire Protection District.
Watch playback of the ABC 17 News livestream of the response on Jaden Ct. here:
The most damaging blaze of the three destroyed a building on E. High St. on Thursday. On Monday a spokesperson said the State Fire Marshal is still investigating the exact cause of the blaze.
Fire investigators can't rule out the possibility that an unsupervised wood-burning stove sparked the fire, to which dozens of Jefferson City firefighters responded.
Watch playback of the ABC 17 News livestream of the response on E. High St. below:
Department of Public Safety spokesperson Mike O'Connell said the ongoing investigation found the stove was lit and possibly unattended. Photos of the response showed fire around the flue of the building.
In recent years, cooking has been the most common cause of residential structure fires, according to the U.S. Fire Administration analysis of 10 years of data. The next two most common causes are heating and electrical equipment.
The National Fire Protection Administration agreed, adding that cooking was the leading cause for home fires and home fire injuries between 2013-2017.
