Four house fires battled in Atchison
02/04/2022

(KAIR)--Four Atchison house fires in 24-hours have kept Atchison fire crews working to battle the flames in the extreme cold blanketing the local area.

According to Atchison Fire Chief Patrick Weishaar, the cause of each fire remains under investigation.

The first two occurred during the noon hour Thursday, when the fire that began at 1418 Kansas Avenue spread to the 1420 Kansas Avenue residence to the west.

The first home was occupied, with all of the residents able to escape safely. The second home was unoccupied.

The third fire occurred shortly before 3:00 Friday morning, at 921 North 6th Street, where the residents were found to have safely made it outside.

According to Weishaar, “firefighters found fire in the attic that had burned through the ceiling to a hallway on the second floor,” and “were able to quickly extinguish the fire in the bedroom and the area of origin in the attic.”

The family was awakened by a smoke detector which alerted them to the fire, allowing them to call 911 and escape. Weishaar notes that fire department personnel was on the scene within 3 minutes of receiving the report, which allowed them to make sure that all five of the occupants were safely out of the house and “to save the building and contents.”

Smoke and water damage have left the family displaced temporarily.

They, like the first affected family Thursday afternoon, were provided assistance by the Atchison Salvation Army, which also provided support to first responders.

"I’m extremely proud of the leadership from Captain Mike Wahwahsuck and Lieutenant Nick Martinez, who fought their third house fire in one 24-hour shift, with a relatively inexperienced crew. I’m proud of all our personnel from the on-duty crew to those on-call who responded on their day off and helped, including our investigator, David Downing, who also responded to begin his investigation on this incident. We have a fantastic group of firefighters and days like yesterday are a perfect example of the dedication they all have to their community."-Atchison Fire Chief Patrick Weishaar

The fourth fire happened later Friday morning, around 8:30, at 833 Mound Street, where firefighters “found the rear of a single-story house, engulfed in flames.”

Weishaar, in a release, says “crews were able to make their way inside to battle the fire but had to be called back out due to the rapid deterioration of the structure,” with the crews switching “to a defensive mode, fighting the fire from outside.”

No one was at home at the time of the fire, with Weishaar adding that “it was reported that a family pet was also able to escape and was found safe.”

The Salvation Army again provided support.

No injuries are reported in any of the four fires.

Also assisting throughout the firefighting efforts were the Atchison Police Department, Atchison County EMS, and Atchison County Emergency Management.


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