Apartment building evacuated in kitchen blaze

ALANNA WOLF-ARMSTRONG/DAILY FORUM
Maryville Public Safety firefighters were called to the Parkway Terrace apartment complex Thursday morning after a kitchen blaze got out hand. Building residents were evacuated while firefighters checked for hot spots then ventilated the building using portable fans. Damage was minimal, and no injuries were reported.

Maryville Public Safety firefighters answered a call Thursday morning to the Parkway Terrace apartment complex at 515 East Seventh St. after a resident reported that a kitchen fire had gotten out of control.

“A neighbor was able to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher from the apartment hallway,” said Capt. Phil Rickabaugh, supervisor of the MPS fire division. “Once we arrived we evacuated the building to check for potential hazards.”

Residents were sheltered inside neighboring apartment buildings while firefighters checked for hot spots.

Rickabaugh said such checks are routine because hot spots left by the initial blaze can flare up and reignite the structure.

After determining that the fire was completely out, firefighters used portable fans to ventilate the building before allowing most people to return to their apartments.

However, the residence where the blaze began remained temporarily uninhabitable.

“The resident who reported the fire, and in whose apartment the fire happened, will be displaced for the remainder of the day and quite possibly the evening for some repairs to be made to the apartment,” said Rickabaugh, adding that the Red Cross was taking steps to provide temporary shelter and other necessities.

Damage to the apartment was minimal, and no injuries were reported.