East Columbia home destroyed in fire, bridge detour raises questions about impacts to emergency response
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A home in East Columbia was considered a total loss after an early Sunday morning fire on Tara Lane, just down the road from the recently demolished St. Charles Road Bridge.
The fire has renewed questions about impacts to emergency response times in the area, as the closure forces first responders to take a detour during the construction.
The Tara Lane homeowner told ABC 17 News he purchased the house last summer as a renovation project. He did not want to be identified but shared a few details Sunday as he was cleaning through the remains of the home. He said he was grateful he was at his primary residence when the fire broke out.
Three neighbors, Elijah Tucker, Peyton Mautin and Daxton Hansen are being praised after spotting smoke coming from the home and calling 911.
"The kids were really the heroes at the moment, because at 4:00 a.m. everybody around here was in bed or sleep," said Walt Domanski with the United States Exercise Tiger Foundation. "They took the first call in and woke people up."
The men said they were in the area on a walk talking to one another when they noticed smoke.
"You couldn't really see anything when you were getting close. It was just all orange and light." Hansen said.
Tucker added the smell from the smoke was potent even from a distance.
According to the Columbia Fire Department, crews were dispatched at 4:30 a.m. Sunday for a reported structure fire. Officials said the home is located on an unimproved road in a remote section of property near Columbia's Hominy Creek Trail, making it difficult to immediately identify the exact location of the fire.
After receiving additional information from 911 callers, more fire companies were dispatched at 4:40 a.m. The department said the first firefighter reached the home on foot within eight minutes after locating the property.
The neighbors who first called 911 said it felt much longer.
"It took almost about an hour. For the response time, it was kind of sad," Tucker said.
The home is about four miles from Columbia Fire Station 5. However, because the St. Charles Road bridge is closed for reconstruction, emergency crews must take an estimated 11 minute detour to reach the area.
"Everybody had to make a detour," said Domanski. "But they got here as fast as they could. In fact, the first trucks here came from Station 1 downtown."
Domanski said firefighters acted quickly once they arrived, preventing the fire from spreading beyond the home.
Months before the fire, the United States Exercise Tiger Foundation said it warned the Missouri Department of Transportation that demolishing the St. Charles Road bridge could impact emergency response times to the area.
The organization proposed building a temporary, 12-foot-wide emergency access road for first responders along I-70 Drive Southeast during construction. According to Domanski, the proposal was presented to MoDOT this spring, but the temporary access road was never built.
"Who knew that would even happen three months later," Domanski said.
Domanski also said Tucker, Mautin and Hansen will receive the organization's Civilian Commendation Medals for their actions in reporting the fire.
ABC 17 News reached out to MoDOT for comment about the emergency access proposal and has not yet received a response.
Check back for updates.
