Multiple people injured in massive fire that engulfed Independence apartment building
Editor’s note: Find the latest updates about the Independence apartment fire that killed a family of four here.
Residents scrambled to safety after a kitchen fire rapidly spread early Wednesday, leading to a massive fire that engulfed their building in the Indy Ridge Apartments complex near Missouri 291 highway and East 39th Street in Independence, a fire department spokesperson said.
Battalion Chief Eric Michel with the Independence Fire Department said that people were injured in the fire. As of 10 a.m., fire officials were working to get the number of those injured, and whether there were any fatalities. They planned a noon news conference.
Firefighters responded shortly before 5:50 a.m. to the pre-dawn blaze at the apartments in the 19000 block of East 37th Terrace, north of the Independence Commons shopping center.
“It was a report of a kitchen fire,” Michel said. “Our crews arrived on scene and saw heavy fire showing from the third floor and went out on an aggressive interior attack and rescue operations to evacuate the building.”
The fire grew exponentially, and firefighters switched to fighting it defensively. The Independence Fire Department called upon nearby fire departments to provide assistance.
“It was a big fire,” Michel said.
The fire heavily damaged the building and firefighters remained at the scene shortly after 9:30 a.m.
“I went outside and it was just engulfed in flames,” said Kat, a resident in another building at the apartment complex who declined to give her last name out of safety concerns.
“It was really scary,” said Kat, who recorded a lot of the fire while she was waiting for a ride to work.
“I just asked a firefighter if everybody was OK and he said, ‘No.’” Kat said. “So that’s just terrible.”
‘You need to get out’
Carissa Schulke, Justin Cochran and their dog, Pumpkin, residents of the building that burned, stood shivering in the cold watching as firefighters continued to work mid-morning. Schulke said she was awakened by the sounds of popping, then heard sirens. When she looked outside, she saw a red glow.
“All of a sudden, they didn’t even knock on my door, they just busted in, ‘Hey you need to get out, you need to get out,’” she said.
Another resident, Kaitlyn McCallister, woke up and sensed that it was too warm in her home.
“It’s too early for the sun to be out,” she said, recalling the moments after she was roused from sleep. “So I went and opened the blinds and you just see little flurries and fire everywhere. I screamed at my boyfriend, ‘Get up, we gotta get out of the house!’”
She and others watched as firefighters battled the blaze.
“I didn’t think they were going to get it out,” she said. “It kept lighting back up and lighting back up and lighting back up.”
Containing the apartment fire in tough weather conditions
Firefighters were able to contain the fire to one building in the complex, Michel said.
Firefighters were facing tough weather conditions, with temperatures in the 20s and sustained winds around 16 mph and gusts up to 24 mph.
Shortly after 8:30 a.m., firefighters extinguished the fire and got all the hot spots out. Michel said fire crews were working to clear the inside of the building.
Cause of Independence apartment fire?
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Investigators are working to determine what caused the fire to spread so rapidly.
The American Red Cross was ordered to help with those displaced. It was unknown how many were affected by the blaze.
This breaking news story will be updated as information becomes available.
This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 8:39 AM.
