[Press Release] : City of Columbia Missouri Information Request

[Press Releases]

For Immediate Release:
Outside Fire Extends to Attic Causing Extensive Damage

Columbia Fire Fighters were called at 19:25 pm on Thursday, November 04, 2010, to 5510 Arrowwood Dr in North East Columbia for a reported residential structure fire.

Fire crews arrived on the scene and found smoke and flames coming from the rear of the structure. The homeowners, Barri Bumgarmer, Marsha Tyson along with two dogs, were in the structure at the time of the fire. An orange glow in the back door window alerted them to the outside fire, that they attempted to extinguish, with a portable fire extinguisher before exiting the structure. Both occupants and the dogs exited the structure before crews arrived on the scene. Marsha Tyson suffered smoke inhalation while attempting to fight the fire, was evaluated by Paramedics at the scene, and was not transported to the Hospital. There were no other injuries as a result of this fire.

The fire began on the exterior of the structure and extended into the attic space via the eves on the roof. The fire then spread rapidly throughout the attic. Crews had the fire under control in 15 minutes and then spent the next 2 ½ hours searching for hidden fire in the attic. Because of the roof construction much of the interior ceiling had to be removed, after the furniture and belongings were covered, to insure the fire had been extinguished.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation but fire investigators have issued a damage estimate of $60,000.00. The home had working smoke detectors but they did not alert the residents to the fire because the fire started outside of the structure.

The Columbia Fire Department wants to remind residents that working smoke alarms do save lives. This weekend, 11/6/10, we are urging residents to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they change their clocks on Saturday evening.  Test your smoke alarms at least once a month by pressing the test button. Replace smoke alarm batteries at least once a year. Replace smoke alarms every 10 years. To ensure adequate protection, place smoke alarms in every sleeping room, and in a common area on every floor. If you can not afford a smoke alarm, call the Columbia Fire Department at 573-874-7556 to schedule an appointment to have free smoke alarms installed. For residences who need assistance in checking their smoke alarms, they can also contact the Columbia Fire Department.
							###


The information you have requested is available for download (or will be within the 10 minutes from the time this message was sent) from the City of Columbia Information Distribution System at 

 http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/webapps/retrieval/retrieval.php?info=eebd8513fd63e1dfd83bfb891e3de9ec606ca45cc98987a107fa9d60c828b2a9795ed4be9fb508e70f783647303be860c9c4f15d21d5c7796692bbe340c61e7bf8de81ca13a9c9b4c323872d9b6e987be3468e813ed2a49999d2260bee05a814fd8742b049216e97613af8bff98392a545a2bc12731d1be9a93c8cc52a887e78

(To save the file, click on the link and select 'Save Target/Link As...'. If your email client does not dispay the URL as a link, you will need to copy the entire link and paste it into your browser. Please note the URL is long and may wrap around onto multiple lines.) 

You will have access to this information for the next 3 days.