Apartment fire damages downtown building

An early morning fire Tuesday at an apartment building at 124 S. Lorimier St. spread from a kitchenette in a basement apartment to the first and second floor via the dead space between remodeled walls.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the call at 5:37 a.m. Tuesday.

The engine crew went into the apartment with light smoke coming from it and woke up the occupants inside.

Of the 10 apartments in the building, seven were occupied, but all the residents were evacuated without injuries, battalion chief Mark Starnes said.

The fire was contained by 7 a.m., Starnes said.

In the department's media fact sheet, it is noted the initial fire in the kitchenette was extinguished quickly, but it took some time to reach the remaining fire because it was in containment spaces between walls.

"The house was built in the 1900s, and it's been remodeled at least three times," Starnes said.

"It never was a major fire; it was just inside the walls. It wasn't open one wall and there's fire; it was open one wall and there's another wall."

Starnes estimated the building damage to be about $150,000 and the content damage to be about $75,000.

There were smoke detectors inside, but Starnes said it appeared the smoke detector in the basement apartment did not activate.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

124 S. Lorimier St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.