ST. LOUIS — Twenty people were forced out of their homes early Monday morning after a fast-moving fire in south St. Louis.
And one firefighter was injured in the process.
St. Louis Fire Department crews were called out at 1:30 a.m. to a four-family flat on the 3100 block of Oregon, which is near Arsenal and Gravois in the Benton Park West neighborhood.
The original call indicated the fire was on the first floor of the building. When firefighters arrived, the fire had quickly spread upstairs and to another adjoining four-family flat.
“This was a quick-moving fire that started on the first floor and went up pretty quickly,” St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said at the scene.
The fire chief said as soon as crews arrived, they asked for a second alarm – trigger more help to respond to the scene – due to the number of people who were inside the buildings.
Firefighters were able to quickly and safely evacuated more than 20 people who lived in the two buildings. The Red Cross responded to the fire scene to help those whose homes were damaged or destroyed.
A 13-year-old boy who lived in one of the units said he was just falling asleep when the fire started.
“My dad knocked on my door, he said the other house is burning and I was like wow. Then, I got up and got my shoes on and I was like running,” Giovanni Corrales said. “Then I saw the firefighters and they were coming all over here. They were like breaking windows and it was super loud.”
Chief Jenkerson said none of the residents were injured. One firefighter who suffered a shoulder strain was treated at the scene and allowed to return to work.
Fire investigators responded to the scene and are working to determine what sparked the fire.