KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Monday night, Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department crews responded to an apartment fire in a three-story building.
The fire began in a third-story unit and forced residents to evacuate in the cold.
"I opened the door and that’s when the smoke came in," explained Karen Bishop, a resident of the complex. "I thought I was going to die."
That feeling soon faded, unlike the cold temperatures, when Bishop was forced to wait on her third-story balcony.
"I was cold, but I was alive," Bishop said.
Those sentiments led KSHB 41 to KCFD.
“The cold weather doesn’t change what we need to do," KCFD Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins said. "The mission’s gotta get done."
Winter weather not only impacted residents, but fire crews responding to the Northland fire. Hopkins told KSHB 41 that fires can double in size every 60 to 90 seconds, forcing swift and efficient response times.
“It really starts from the fire station, if we have snow or ice on the ground, that is going to slow our response, we have to drive slower and be safer," Hopkins said. "With the cold weather, just like in the heat, that cold is going to drain your personnel more."
Hopkins says that much of the fire crews biggest challenges during the cold and snowy weather is avoiding slips and falls.
"If it’s a fires situation where we’re getting up on roofs, it’s a lot more dangerous if it’s snow or ice covered," he said. "There is a lot more risk of slipping and falling off that roof.”
The weather also impacts fire clean-up efforts, rolling hoses, freezing uniforms, and other gear.
According to KCFD, one of its biggest challenges is for EMS services.
"On an EMS call, we have a patient that we’re bringing out into these frigid temperatures, we need to make sure they’re wrapped up and warm," Hopkins said.
Snow and ice-covered sidewalks create issues for medical crews attempting to bring equipment in and out of a residence, only increasing the slip-and-fall hazard.
"Have they shoveled their porch, their steps, their sidewalk? That plays a factor because now we’re pulling a cot with a person in all that snow," he said. "Please make sure your porches are shoveled off, front steps, sidewalks, all the way out to the curb. It's easier on us to get in and out and reduces the slip hazard."
Hopkins added the fire department encourages residents with homes near a fire hydrant to shovel excess snow in case of an emergency.
"We still got a job to do and we’ll do it," he added. "It just makes it a lot less fun."
The cause of the Northland apartment fire is still under investigation.
—
KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
