April 25, 2003

PRESS RELEASE
To: Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Asst. to the Fire Chief
Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2411, page: 675-2137

Two-Alarm Apartment Fire Causes Damage and Evacuation

A fire that started from grease being left on the stove damaged two residences and forced a partial evacuation of a the Park Place Apartments early this morning . . .

Shreveport firefighters were called to the Queensborough neighborhood complex, mostly made up of retired senior citizens, at 4:36 a.m. When they arrived in the 3200 block of Mertis Avenue smoke could be seen coming from a second floor apartment.

A second alarm was sounded at 4:50 a.m. to provide additional manpower to the scene, primarily for life safety issues that involved the evacuation of adjacent apartments. Aggressive firefighters were able to quickly confine the fire, which started in apartment 209 and spread to apartment 309 through the stove vent and wall. The fire was officially listed as being under control at 5:19 a.m. No injuries were reported.

Fire officials estimate that about three-dozen occupants of the apartment complex were evacuated to the facility’s lobby/game room. All were allowed to return to their residences following an all clear and safety check by firefighters, with the exception of the occupants of the two affected apartments. Fire damage was listed as heavy to the kitchen area of the second floor apartment, and flooring and kitchen walls of the third floor residence. ###