Blaze displaces KU students / LJWorld.com

Archive for Monday, December 10, 2007

No one is injured in early morning fire that destroys house

December 10, 2007

Fire damages central Lawrence home

Lawrence fire fighters responded to a multiple alarm fire in the 1100 block of Vermont just before three this morning. Enlarge video

Photo by Richard Gwin

Lawrence firefighters work the scene of a house fire at 1129 Vt. early Sunday morning. Seven Kansas University students lived at the residence. No one was injured.

A fire destroyed a three-story home in the 1100 block of Vermont Street early Sunday morning. Flames ravaged the home at 1129 Vt., caving in part of the roof and displacing the residents and neighbors. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical Chief Joe Hoelscher said on-site investigations concluded Sunday night. The house's landlord, Bob Garcia, has yet to determine how much damage the fire caused. No other homes suffered damage.

Seven Kansas University students lived in the house, Garcia said. Neighbors said only three were in the house at the time of the fire, which was declared under control at 5:50 a.m.

Sunday morning a pile of blackened bicycles and a charred coffee table were strewn across the front lawn, which was blocked off by yellow police tape.

Josh Adams and Bryn Carlson, both KU alumni, live next door to the house and called 911 a little before 3 a.m., after they were awakened by the sounds of the crackling fire.

"I saw a glow on our wall and put two and two together," Adams said.

Carlson said she saw flames engulfing the house's front porch as she called emergency crews, then saw fire spread throughout the building. Carlson and Adams quickly evacuated their own home.

"It was get-out-of-the-house big," Adams said. Emergency crews told Carlson and Adams to leave their property around 5 a.m., for fear that flames might jump onto their house. They spent the night at a friend's home.

"The fire marshal indicated to me what the point of origin was. He seemed to think it was the front porch," Garcia said. Garcia said he had installed smoke alarms in every room.

The Douglas County chapter of the American Red Cross and KU's Office of Student Success are assisting the seven residents by providing money for clothing, as well as lodging and meals at the university.

Jane Blocher, executive director of the local Red Cross office, said the university was also working with the residents' instructors to provide replacement textbooks. Final exams are scheduled for this week.