GLADSTONE, Mo. - Firefighters evacuated 12 apartment units as a fire tore through a complex in Gladstone early Tuesday morning.
The fire began at about 1 a.m. at the Crown Heights apartment complex on NE 58th Street.
Gladstone Fire Battalion Chief Bret Atkins consulted with an investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s Office to determine the fire was electrical and began in the complex’s laundry room.
One tenant described waking up to smoke alarms going off inside her unit and in the hallways.
“I opened the hallway door and they were going off. I tried to find my cat, and opened my bathroom door and the smoke just billowed out of my bathroom,” Angela Condos said.
Luckily, firefighters found her cat alive. They also rescued a dog and took it to an emergency vet.
Atkins said no one was hurt in the fire or evacuation.
“Evacuation was difficult, but we managed to get everyone out,” he said, citing the bitter cold temperatures as a challenge.
The American Red Cross said it was helping about 20 displaced renters. First, the Red Cross put tenants in an office building neighboring the complex. Later in the day, organizers planned to open a formal shelter at the Gladstone Civic Center.
Condos moved to her mother’s home after the fire.
The battalion chief said the fire began on the ground floor, but flames eventually spread to all three floors and out the roof.
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