Firefighters work to extinguish fire at state government building in Jefferson City
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Firefighters are battling a structure fire at a state building in Jefferson City.
The fire happened at a building in the 1700 block of E. Elm Street. Firefighters were on the scene before 10 p.m.
About 80 app developers with the state's Information Technology Services Division work at the building, according to ITSD director Jeff Wann. Wann said the developers help the Missouri Department of Social Services. A small group of DSS employees working the Children's Division also work out of the building, Wann said.
Wann said he did not believe any workers were inside the building at the time of the fire. The department checks Monday night to make sure those that worked in the building were safe.
"Because we have some of our high end developers there, that means that there's a lot of very expensive computer equipment, work stations, double monitors, those kinds of things," Wann said. "It's certainly going to be a huge loss in replacing the equipment, but also replacing anything else that was in that building."
Jefferson City police officers and ambulances also responded to the scene. Police still had part of E. Elm Street blocked as of 10:50 p.m. Police told an ABC 17 News photographer to keep a safe distance from the scene because of toxic fumes. Jefferson City Fire Department Chief Matt Schofield told ABC 17 News that the large amount of computers in the building gave them worry about possible toxic fumes.
Schofield said the Missouri State Fire Marshal would investigate the cause of the fire.
Wann said the department had an alternative site in place for workers tomorrow. He said some employees have worked in the building for nearly 20 years, and may have lost personal mementos in the fire.
"It's going to be really tough on the staff that work there," Wann said. "It's just not a place to work. There's a lot of friendships and all kinds of things that are developed with their co-workers, and a lot of that has gone up in flames."
