Chanute apartment fire ruled accidental, second victim dies

A second victim has passed away from their injuries after a southeast Kansas apartment fire last week.

It all began at 1:22am on Thursday, March 21, when the Chanute Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at the Cornerstone Apartments, 1520 W. 4th St. in Chanute.

The south half of the 3-story, 24-unit apartment building was fully engulfed in flames and residents were jumping from windows to escape. Emergency responders rescued several residents of the apartment building, while requesting mutual aid assistance from the Parsons, Iola, and Thayer Fire Departments.

Tragically, two residents of the apartment building died in the blaze. 22-year-old Kalyn Jones was found deceased at the scene. 90-year-old Jolavon Haymaker passed away after being airlifted with severe injuries to KU Medical Center in Kansas City.

Seven other residents of the building were injured, and were treated and released by a local hospital.

“Our investigation determined the cause of the fire at the Cornerstone Apartments was accidental,” said State Fire Marshal Mark Engholm. “The fire started due to carelessly discarded smoking materials on an exterior balcony of the building.”

Officials say high wind conditions rapidly drove the fire up the exterior of the building and through an adjacent, open stairwell. Because of its rapid growth up the exterior of the building, the fire extended into the attic before it was detected by a resident. The resident activated the fire alarm as they fled, however the fire destroyed the alarm system wiring shortly after it was activated, silencing the fire alarms.

The Chanute Community Foundation has set up a dedicated fund to collect monetary donations to assist those affected by the fire.

Monetary donations may be dropped off at the Chanute Area Chamber, 21 N. Lincoln, and several local banks.