Overland Park apartment fire latest updates.

Posted: August 8, 2011 - 4:10am
Updated: October 26, 2011 - 4:40pm

Updated Story - October 26, 2011 - Reward offered in Overland Park apartment fire investigation

The Overland Park Fire Department has released a statement on this mornings multiple alarm fire in the 9200 block of west 79th Street. Dispatchers received the first calls about the fire just before 12:30 a.m. with callers reporting smoke and fire at the Evergreen Apartments.

A Johnson County Med-Act Ambulance was the first to arrive on scene and immediately reported heavy fire from the roof of the two story apartment building. Overland Park Fire crews arrived and reported they were seeing active fire from the basement all the way up through the roof. Within minutes the fire was upgraded to a two alarm response.

Overland Park Police and Fire crews assisted several residents out of the building. Shortly after those evacuations were completed, fire crews were forced from the building due to a partial collapse of the roof. Aerial ladders were setup around the building and crews on the ground fought the fire from the exterior. The fire was contained to an area of the building between two firewalls. The firewalls did what they are in place to do and prevented the fire from expanding to a larger section of the building.

A statement released by Overland Park Fire states that six units were destroyed and crews were able to save the majority of the building. The fire was reported under control just after 3:15 a.m. No injuries have been reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Kansas City Power & Light cut power to approximately 1,500 customers as crews battled the blaze to allow for aerial ladders to be extended near the power lines.

Attention News Media LINK