Firefighter injured in fall while fighting fire at vacant historic building in KC
A firefighter was injured when he fell through a set of stairs while battling a fire Friday morning at the historic Western Baptist Bible College building in Kansas City, a fire department spokesman said.
Firefighters responded to the fire around 9 a.m. at the three-story vacant building at 2119 Tracy Ave., said Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins with the Kansas City Fire Department.
Arriving firefighters reported smoke coming from the third floor and made an interior attack on the fire, which included searching the building for anyone inside. Hopkins said command at the fire ordered a second alarm about 9:15 a.m. to bring additional firefighters and equipment to help fight the fire.
Firefighters used five hoses to bring the fire under control.
The injured firefighter was taken to a hospital, where he was stable and in good condition, Hopkins said. No other injuries were reported.
Fire officials ordered Kansas City’s dangerous buildings to inspect the damage to the building. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Western Baptist Bible College, recognized as the oldest Christian institution west of the Mississippi founded exclusively by Blacks, owns the building that was designed and built in 1900 for the Gillis Orphans’ Home. The college, which has trained generations of Black ministers and lay people, bought the property in the late 1920s.
The college currently uses space near East 27th Street and Prospect Avenue, and has plans to renovate the vacant building and add 35 town homes. The rehabilitation project, known as the District Row Development, earlier this year received $750,000 from Kansas City.
