From the ashes 5 years after the Boardwalk Apartment Fire
The Fire
The intensity of the fire that consumed the Boardwalk Apartments on Friday, Oct. 5, 2005 lit up the night sky and prevented officials from investigating for two days.
Fire at Boardwalk Apartments
An early morning fire Friday at Boardwalk Apartments, 524 Frontier Road, left several buildings destroyed and many residents homeless. Area fire departments from Lenexa and Olathe as well as emergency medical units from Johnson County came to Lawrence to assist.
Fire levels apartments
3 people unaccounted for; more than 80 residents lose homes
Dave Klebek knew there was trouble outside his door early Friday morning at Boardwalk Apartments. “I thought it might have been a fight or some other commotion,” Klebek said of the disturbance that got his attention shortly after 1 a.m.
After the fire at Boardwalk Apartments
Former Boardwalk Apartments resident Eli Greenbaum talks on his cell phone Monday afternoon in his room at The Windsor of Lawrence assisted living center, 3220 Peterson Road. Aside from losing all of his belongings in the fire, Greenbaum suffered multiple fractures to his heels and ankles after jumping from the third floor of the burning building while trying to escape. Greenbaum plans to live at the assisted living center while his injuries heal.
Recoveries account for all missing
Family, friends identify three victims
The search for bodies is over, with grim results. Now the investigation into the cause of Friday’s deadly apartment fire in west Lawrence begins in earnest.
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Five years later
Survivors recount lasting effects of one of the worst fires in Lawrence history, which killed three people and injured 20 others in a matter of minutes. -
Jason Allen Rose
One of the first 911 calls reporting the fire came from a phone line registered to a ‘Rose, J.’ Jason Allen Rose soon found himself accused of starting the blaze. -
The Fire
The intensity of the fire that consumed the Boardwalk Apartments on Friday, Oct. 5, 2005 lit up the night sky and prevented officials from investigating for two days.
Comments
lawrenceguy40 2 years, 7 months ago
Journalistic award fodder! Get over it LJW. The Pullitzer will never come your way. Try reporting today's local news.
Joel 2 years, 7 months ago
I'm sorry you see this as a reason to take a cheap shot at the Journal-World, lawrenceguy40.
I was the first Journal-World reporter on the scene of this tragedy, and I know the event weighs heavily on me five years later. All the many other people who were directly or indirectly affected by the fire -- the survivors, the families, the emergency responders and many others -- are no doubt marking this day. It obviously still has resonance in the community; it is news.
My thoughts are with those who experienced that night -- those who survived and those who didn't.
Joel Mathis Philadelphia
lissamphibia 2 years, 7 months ago
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queequeg 2 years, 7 months ago
Go to h*ll lawrenceguy40. I lost a friend in that fire and worthless anonymous jerks like you should just shut up. If you got nothing to say, then say nothing.
openminded 2 years, 7 months ago
I have a dear friend that was lost in the fire. I'm proud to take a look back at the fire and her life. It is articles like this that make you appreciate everything you have at the moment. Makes you hug your family just a bit harder when you leave for work, makes you say I love you just a few more times throughout the day. I am very thankful for this article. And thank you Joel. I still cry when I read this, cried during Rose's trial and cried at his sentencing. This article is a part of Lawrence's history. If you don't like it, don't read it.
bearded_gnome 2 years, 7 months ago
Joel, maybe you don't read the threads here lately.
to refer to LG40 as a troll actually insults trolls.
we all know about him. don't worry.
thank you for the article ljw, this very serious event has effected our community in so many lives.
a story on the anniversary just makes sense.
openminded 2 years, 7 months ago
Thanks gnome. I couldn't have said it better myself.
bearded_gnome 2 years, 7 months ago
OM: Thanks gnome. I couldn't have said it better myself.
---you're welcome.
it is an event that is perminently etched in Lawrence history.
BigJayhawk 2 years, 7 months ago
I lived in one of those apartments in 1992-1993 or so (actually it was 2 adjoining apartments made into one -- #7 & #8 as I recall). My room-mates and I lived on the top floor. The decks and stairs to the ground were all wood as I recall. Seeing the photos 5 years ago really made me think back about what a TERROR that must have been for the victims to try to escape. It was eery for me and I was out of there about 13 years prior.
Thanks for the look back LJW. (Posting this from New Jersey.)
Ron Holzwarth 2 years, 6 months ago
lawrenceguy40 - I guess you don't read much. A lot of fires are still written about decades after the event, especially if there was a great and needless loss of life due to inadequate fire protection and/or escape routes. By correcting the deficiences, there is no way to tell how many people have been spared a horrible death.
Here are a couple fires that will always be "news":
The Iroquois Theatre fire occurred on December 30, 1903, in Chicago, Illinois. It is the deadliest theater fire and the deadliest single-building fire in United States history. A total of 602 people died as a result of the fire.
Cocoanut Grove Fire - On November 28th 1942, a huge fire occurred at the Cocoanut Grove Night Club in Boston. 492 people perished in total.
In the aftermath of those fires, there were many code changes, and the enforcement of the existing codes was given a much higher priority.
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