Fire fills part of Kansas City’s Union Station with black smoke. Fans used to clear air
Firefighters worked to clear black smoke from the historic Union Station in Kansas City after one of the building’s heating and air conditioning units caught fire early Friday, a fire department spokesman said.
Firefighters responded at about 7:45 a.m. to a reported fire in the massive landmark building at 30 West Pershing Road, said Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins with the Kansas City Fire Department.
A caller reported that black smoke was in the lower levels and coming out of the heating and air conditioning systems.
Firefighters found and extinguished the fire in a heating and air conditioning unit on Science City’s roof. They were working to clear the smoke from the building while Union Station maintenance workers shut down the air handling system to prevent smoke from moving through the building.
At 9 a.m., Hopkins said firefighters were still working to remove the smoke from Union Station.
“Due to the size of the structure, this is an enormous undertaking,” Hopkins said. “Building maintenance has removed a window on an upper floor, and we are using high-powered fans to create positive pressure and remove the smoke.”
Fire officials expected it to take another hour or two before all the smoke was cleared from the building.
The fire occurred in a mechanical closet and was extinguished quickly, Lauren Kovarna, associate vice president of marketing for Union Station Kansas City, said. The damage was limited to that closet.
The smoke did not damage the Holiday Reflections displays which opens Friday in the Grand Plaza, Kovarna said. The holiday walk-through village is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through Jan. 1, with tickets costing $10. The exhibit is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and has reduced hours on Christmas Eve.
Union Station’s Grand Hall also was undamaged, Kovarna said. Attractions at Union Station opened as usual at 10 a.m.
The owner of Rocky Mountain Chocolate, Matthew Geehan, said he saw and smelled some smoke in the hallway outside his shop inside of Science City.
“You could definitely smell it in the hallway and downstairs,” he said.
As of 11 a.m., there was still a faint smell of smoke in the Grand Hall.
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 9:33 AM.
