Duplex fire Monday evening displaces 2 families

A fire at a duplex on 26th Street in central Lawrence displaced two families Monday evening, but six residents, including three young children, who were home at the time of the incident were able to quickly escape the structure.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze, but the two families have been displaced because of the damage.

Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical was dispatched to the structure fire, 1516 W. 26th St., at around 7:20 p.m. Heavy smoke could be seen from the intersection of 23rd Street and Ousdahl Road, and the fire was upgraded to a second alarm shortly after the initial report.

“Everyone was out within 30 seconds,” said Jolene Harrell, who lives in one of the duplex units with Josh Terrazas and their three children, ages 6, 4 and 2.

Terrazas knocked on the adjoining unit belonging to Camille Settlemyer, whose two children were not home at the time. Settlemyer grabbed her miniature pinscher, Theodore, and got out, she said.

“I thought to go back in for my purse and it was already too filled with smoke,” she said.

Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical’s investigation is ongoing, and as of Monday evening a cause and a damage estimate were unavailable. The Douglas County Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents.