ATF joins investigation of Kansas City apartment complex fire that sent 15 to hospital
Hours after an apartment fire in Kansas City sent 15 people to hospitals and put two children in critical condition, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Friday announced it has joined the investigation.
The ATF along with the Kansas City Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire at an apartment building at 10409 East 42nd Street, said John Ham, public information officer for the ATF’s Kansas City Field Division.
“At this point, we do not know if this was a set fire or not, that’s obviously why we’re here,” Ham said. “With this number of people transported to the hospital and the amount of damage that was done to the structure itself, it is a fire that needs a lot of eyes to it.”
Ham spoke in front of the three-story apartment building at the Stonegate Meadows apartment complex where fire damage was visible Friday morning in the building’s stairwell.
Firefighters were called just before 12:34 a.m. and arriving crews saw residents jumping from the second floor in attempts to escape, Jason Spreitzer, a Kansas City Fire Department spokesman, told The Star.
All 15 people that were transported to hospitals suffered from either smoke inhalation or burns, Ham said.
The fire largely damaged the building’s hallways and stairways.
“Obviously that’s a problem if the structure you live in is on fire and you’re trying to get out,” Ham said.
The ATF is working to rule out possible causes of the fire and to see if there is any evidence that the fire was set.
“We always assume it’s a criminal act until we don’t know it’s a criminal act,” Ham said.
Investigators have determined a broad area of origin and Ham said he hoped to provide an update in the afternoon with preliminary information.
