19 residents relocated after fire at Sturgeon care facility
STURGEON, Mo. (KMIZ)
Residents of a care facility in the 300 block of East Stone Street in Sturgeon were relocated to other facilities after a fire swept through the building on Monday.
Just before 5 a.m., Boone County Joint Communication issued a notification that E. Stone St. is closed due to a fire incident. The road reopened just before 9:30 a.m.
Boone County Fire Protection District Chief Doug Westoff told ABC 17 News at the scene that crews responded to an automatic alarm at 4:37 a.m. at the Sturgeon Residential Care Facility. A staff member found a fire on the porch outside the nursing home and attempted to put the fire out before it spread to the attic. Residents in the facility were able to evacuate; there were no reported injuries.
"The resident portion of this facility is still in good shape, this is really isolated to a pantry, kitchen, office area for the most part," Westhoff said.
Sturgeon Residential Care Facility Owner Randy Burke said 19 residents and two staff members were inside at the start of the fire when they were alerted by the building's fire alarms.
Residents were temporarily moved to facilities across Boone, Randolph and Monroe Counties.
Staff were able to evacuate the building in around 4 minutes.
Fire crews on scene got the flames under control just after 7 a.m. The building had several void spaces, making it a challenge to extinguish the fire, according to Westhoff.
"It was in such tight spaces in different rooflines and stuff like that, and the building's been added on to five or six times," said Westhoff.
Westhoff says there were about 30 firefighters on scene.
When ABC 17 News crews arrived on scene, they saw at least seven Boone County Fire trucks along with a ladder truck from the Columbia Fire Department. Firefighters were seen battling a fire at the Sturgeon Residential Care facility.
Smoke was seen billowing from the roof and the windows as firefighters used foam to get the flames under control.
According to Burke, he bought Sturgeon Residential Care Facility in 2019, completing renovations in 2023. There have been no previous fires.
Burke adds that the community has been very responsive, telling ABC 17 News he received over 40 calls Monday morning from neighbors wanting to help with recovery.
No timeline has been set for reopening, with repairs expected to take some time.
