Fire does heavy damage to eastern Lawrence four-plex

Lawrence firefighters respond to a fire at an apartment building at 1312 Crosswinds Court, Tuesday, June 6, 2017.

Six families were forced from their residences but were uninjured from a two-alarm fire Tuesday afternoon that caused heavy damage to a four-plex in the Crosswinds Apartments complex in eastern Lawrence.

Lawrence/Douglas Fire Medical Division Chief Justin Temple said units were dispatched to a fire at 5:04 p.m. Tuesday at 1312 Crosswinds Court. Firefighters arrived to find an active fire at the four-plex, which was home to six families. Residents home at the time of the fire were evacuating from their apartments when firefighters arrived, he said. Firefighters did assist in retrieving pets from the apartments.

There were no injuries from the fire to the residents or firefighters, Temple said.

Firefighters first entered the structure to battle the blaze, but conditions forced them to leave the building to fight the fire in an exterior defensive mode, Temple said. Once flames were knocked back, firefighters once again entered the building to fight the fire, he said. The fire was declared under control at 5:47 p.m., he said.

Six firetrucks and 24 firefighters responded to the fire, Temple said. In addition, the department’s latest recruit class assisted by refilling air bottles and carrying equipment to the site at the end of a Crosswinds Apartments cul-de-sac, he said.

From the exterior, the northwestern most unit in the four-plex appears to have suffered the greatest damage and part of the roof above the unit was gone. However, Temple said the department was investigating the fire’s point of origin and cause.

The owner of Crosswinds Apartments is helping the displaced residents find shelter, Temple said. The fire department was joining that effort through the American Red Cross, he said.