Trending Topics

Mo. firefighters switch tactics, avoid collapse at abandoned building fire

Kansas City firefighters withdrew from the building and switched to defensive operations minutes before the roof collapsed

Kansas City firefighters avoid collapse at abandoned building fire
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected

        By Noelle Alviz-Gransee
        The Kansas City Star

        KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City firefighters avoided injury while fighting a blaze burning in a vacant building Thursday when they evacuated crews before a roof collapse, officials said.

        The Kansas City Fire Department responded around 11 a.m. to fight the vacant building fire in east Kansas City.

        When firefighters arrived, they saw heavy smoke in the 5100 block of E. 27 Street, said KCFD Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins in a news release.

        After a few minutes, the incident commander made the choice to evacuate the building of firefighters and conduct defensive operations from outside, Hopkins said.

        Five to ten minutes after firefighters were evacuated, the whole roof collapsed on the west side of the building, Hopkins said. No one was injured, and the fire was under control before noon.

        The cause of the fire is under investigation.

        ©2025 The Kansas City Star.
        Visit kansascity.com.
        Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

        Trending
        Firefighters and EMS providers created and shared these informative, fun posts and videos
        First responders gathered for the funeral of Kansas City Firefighter/Paramedic Graham Hoffman, whose legacy of service lives on through his organ donations
        The new Federal Wildland Fire Service would consolidate USDA and DOI fire programs into one command under the Interior Department
        Crews in Louisville saved a semitruck driver trapped in a cab hanging off an I-65 overpass after a crash sent the vehicle teetering over the edge