Commercial Structure Fire on Towne Drive

(COLUMBIA, MO) - The Columbia Fire Department was dispatched to a commercial structure fire at 1623 Towne Drive on Sunday, December 9, 2018 at 8:26pm.

The first unit arrived less than four minutes later and observed no smoke or fire coming from a three story apartment building.  The occupants had evacuated and advised there was a fire in the kitchen of apartment 1F.  Crews deployed a preconnected hose line, entered the building and encountered heavy smoke and fire.  They performed an aggressive fire attack and had the fire under control in approximately ten minutes.

Assistant Fire Marshal Shawn McGruder responded to perform a fire origin and cause investigation.  He determined the fire originated in the kitchen.  Unattended cooking was the cause.  A damage estimate is not available at this time.  Working smoke alarms in the building alerted occupants of the fire. 

Nine units from the Columbia Fire Department responded to this call.  There were no reported injuries.