Fire at a historic Joplin apartment complex

A set of historic apartments in Joplin went up in flames overnight. Read the full press release from the city of Joplin below:

At approximately 1:17 a.m., on Thursday, May 12, the Joplin Fire Department was dispatched to a reported structure fire near 1st Street and Jackson Avenue. First arriving fire units found a two-story vacant building heavily involved in fire. This building shared a common attic space with two other two-story vacant buildings and fire was rapidly advancing throughout all three buildings.

Fire personnel performed a quick primary search of the structures to ensure there were no occupants. Once it was confirmed there were no occupants fire personnel had to make a defensive attack due to the structural stability of all three buildings.

Additional water supply was needed due to the volume of fire so several fire departments from Newton and Jasper Counties were contacted to provide mutual aid. Those agencies assisting were the Duenweg Fire Department, Carl Junction Fire District, Webb City Fire Department, Oronogo Fire District, Carterville Fire Department, Tri-Cities Fire Protection District, Carthage Fire Department, and the Redings Mill Fire Protection District.

The fire was placed under control at approximately 3:45 a.m., Joplin Fire utilized 7 apparatus and 24 personnel to fight the fire. There were no injuries to firefighters and additional assistance was provided by the Joplin Police Department, METS Ambulance Service, and Joplin Public Works.

The cause and origin of the fire is under investigation by the Joplin Fire Marshal.