Response time by Joplin emergency personnel limits damage from apartment fire
Residents of the Northpark Apartment building located at 3516 Newman Rd. escaped life-threatening danger Wednesday night thanks to the quick response of Joplin first responders.
It all began just after 9:45 p.m. when the call first came into the Joplin 911 Center dispatch as the fire spread from one apartment unit at the top level to another.
“The first crew that arrived pulled a two-and-a-half-inch line [hose] and one guy tried to keep the fire at bay while the other two began going up and getting occupants out of the building,” Joplin Fire Chief Gerald Ezell told NewsTalk KZRG. “Immediately, the captain on the engine called a second alarm because he saw the amount of fire that we had. We also got assistance from the Duenweg Fire Department as well. They came out and gave us a big hand.”
The fire was contained and under control in about an hour.
“It was just a seamless operation,” Ezell said. “We had Missouri Southern Police Department, Joplin Police Department, our guys and others there and we got all of those occupants out in just a few minutes. It wasn’t very long at all. That was an incredible effort on our folks containing the fire while everyone else evacuated people out.
“That could have been so much worse with the head start that the fire had on us. To be able to stop it where we did, that was an incredible job by our guys as well as the assistance from the PD, Southern and from Joplin, it was remarkable.”
Six apartments on the second and third floors suffered significant damage, with the entire 24-unit building, 38 residents total, being evacuated and displaced.
The help from other agencies on site—the Joplin Police Department, Missouri Southern Police Department, Duenweg Fire and METS Ambulance—assisted with evacuating residents and securing the location.
“When you’re talking about 38 residents in 24 units, that is a large amount of people to get out in the amount of time that we did,” Ezell said. “I would say we probably had the building cleared in about 10 minutes. The assistance from everyone just jumping in and doing the job is what I believe makes Joplin special. It is a seamless operation when we get together for the good of our citizens.”
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries and were treated on site but no other injuries were reported.
The cause is still under investigation at this time, but an electrical malfunction has not been ruled out. It will probably take a few more days of investigating before the official cause of the fire is released.