FIRE VICTIM REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION

A Cape Girardeau man is in Southeast Missouri Hospital's intensive-care unit following a fire Wednesday night at 719 N. West End Boulevard.

Arthur L. Fears Jr., 43, had been a resident of the apartment house for about a week when it caught fire Wednesday around 7:30 p.m.

He was listed in serious but stable condition.

Officials from the Red Cross were hoping other residents would contact them about a place to stay, if it was needed.

Officials from Cape Girardeau Inspection Services condemned the apartment house Thursday morning.

A spokesman for the fire department said Thursday that the fire started in a couch on the lower level of the building.

Rick Murray of inspection services said extensive damage caused by the fire resulted in the condemnation.

"Anytime a fire occurs in a structure, it usually falls under condemnation," he said. "They do have to make some repairs before people can move back in."

Murray said the building has to be brought up to the current code, not the code the building was under when it was built. He said the repair costs aren't "insurmountable."

"Now they have to have proper fire separation," Murray said. "That's not fire walls, it's a separation wall. It can be done with a little work."

Murray said the structure probably didn't adhere to the new minimum property standards. He said his office couldn't have taken any action without a neighbor or an affected party filing a complaint with his office.

"If this structure would've been brought up to code, it probably wouldn't have been fully involved," he said. "And we wouldn't have condemned it. This is a perfect example of why we in the public safety field stress designing safety into structures."