[Press Release] : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Two Suffer Burns after Fire at Homeless Camp

[Press Releases]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Captain John Metz
Duty PIO Pager 573-499-7035(24 hours - Please No Voice Mail; Enter Number to Call)
Office 573-874-7644(M-F, 8-5)


Two Suffer Burns after Fire at Homeless Camp

COLUMBIA, MO (January 18, 2012) - At ll:59 p.m. on January 17th, the Columbia Fire Department responded to a reported burn victim at 1718 N. Providence Road, the America's Best Value Inn Motel. A 40 year-old male victim had entered the motel lobby and told the desk clerk that he had been burned and needed assistance. The victim also told the clerk that there was another burn victim located at a nearby homeless encampment.

Columbia Fire Fighters and a University Hospital ambulance arrived on the scene and made contact with the male burn victim. The victim told responders that the other victim was at a homeless campsite located in the woods just north of 409 Vandiver Road, the Vandiver West office complex. Columbia Fire Fighters entered the wooded area and began calling for the victim. After a brief search, the 30 year-old female burn victim was located in a shed near the corner of the parking lot at 409 Vandiver.

Both victims sustained serious burns and were transported by ambulance to University Hospital. The names of the victims are not being released at this time.  

It appears that the two victims were in a tent in the wooded area when the tent caught fire. The tent was destroyed by the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by Columbia Fire Department Investigators.

While the cause of this fire has not been determined, the Columbia Fire Department reminds residents that open flames should never be used in or around a camping tent. Also, campfires should be at least 25 feet away from any tent and never left unattended.


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