Fire that burned two houses under construction near Plaza is labeled suspicious by KCFD
A two-alarm fire that destroyed two houses under construction in a Kansas City neighborhood between the Westport area and the Country Club Plaza is being called suspicious, a fire department spokesman said Tuesday.
The heat from the Sunday night fire was so intense it melted the siding on neighboring homes, street signs and even the bumpers off of cars, said Jason Spreitzer, a spokesman with the Kansas City Fire Department. Flames were 30 to 40 feet in the air near the tops of the trees in the neighborhood.
“It was like a fireball,” said Spreitzer.
Multiple callers alerted firefighters of the blaze about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, saying that it had engulfed both houses near the corner of Corbin Terrace and Summit Street.
While still en route, responding fire crews saw smoke billowing from the fire and immediately requested the call be upgraded to a regular first alarm. Upon arrival, firefighters attacked the fire that had engulfed the two houses and spread to a garage behind one of the houses, Spreitzer said.
A battalion chief requested a second alarm to bring additional units and manpower to the scene as a precaution.
Because the houses were unoccupied, firefighters fought the blaze defensively and used a ladder truck to spray a stream of water down onto the flames.
“They started putting copious amounts of water over the top of the structure,” Spreitzer said.
At the same time, firefighters fought to keep the fire from spreading to neighboring houses. Fire crews also made sure nearby residents were out of homes adjacent to the burning houses. There were three properties saved.
The fire fed on fresh wood from the new construction. Because the houses were still in the framing stages, it was like a “free burn” with nothing holding it back from spreading, he said.
“Once it catches fire, it’s a tinderbox,” Spreitzer said. “It was just really intense on the fact that it melted bumpers off two vehicles and the siding was melted.”
Spreitzer declined to say why the fire is being considered suspicious. However, there was no electricity to the houses and there were no squatters.
The houses are also in a neighborhood where there are a lot of people who walk by. People who live in the area are alert and aware of what is going on in their neighborhood, he said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The Kansas City Police Department’s bomb and arson unit is also investigating the blaze.
Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 10:23 AM.
