Crews on the scene of Thursday’s fatal fire -photo courtesy WIBW TV
UPDATE:
Riley County Fire Chief Pat Collins confirmed for Little Apple Post that authorities investigating the fatal fire in Ogden early Thursday morning are working to positively identify the victims, notification of next of kin and the cause of the fire. Four people were pronounced dead at the scene.
Collins said multiple agencies are helping with the investigation. Work is being done to dig through the debris at 208 Riley Avenue to determine what caused the fire.
Collins noted several firefighters slipped on the ice. “It got really slick here, fell down, they’re all doing alright now but I think they’re going to be really sore come nightfall or tomorrow. Two of the firefighters were treated by EMS on scene but no one required transport to a hospital.
Cold weather early Thursday morning made it difficult to fight the fire. “The cold, it was really bad trying to get around, move around, and do things. I don’t know that it was a big factor on the initial attack but as the morning went on it made it hard to get around, get upstairs, move around the trucks.” The City of Ogden brought in salt and sand and helped spread it out, which helped improve the conditions.
The building that burned had a residence upstairs and business history in the past. Collins noted in the 1960s it was a bar and later became a location where first radios and then videos were sold. The downstairs business area was not in use at the time of the fire. “There was only one way to the upstairs, up a pretty steep set of stairs and we haven’t found any smoke detectors in the building.”
The first truck on the scene was from the Manhattan Fire Department. “They made entry to the front door and actually found one victim by the front door. They were in rescue mode so they were trying to get to other parts of the building upstairs where we knew the bedrooms were and couldn’t get up the stairs. So actually made entry through a front window and we found the other three victims in one of the bedrooms.” Riley County firefighters also responded and helped battle the blaze.
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Riley County Fire Chief Pat Collins has released information following an early morning fire in Ogden that claimed four lives.
Collins said at 3:43 a.m. the Ogden, Riley and Manhattan Fire Departments were dispatched to 208 Riley Avenue in Ogden for a report of a structure on fire with multiple people entrapped. Upon arrival, crews found a two-story structure with heavy smoke showing. Crews entered the building and performed search and rescue operation along with extinguishing the fire.
Crews quickly removed one person from the building and upon re-entry three more people were located. All of four of them were pronounced dead at the scene.
The identifies of the victims have not yet been released. The owner of the structure has been identified by authorities as Roger Harris. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Riley County Fire Department, Riley County Police Department, Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Manhattan Fire Department.
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OGDEN, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say four people are dead after a fire in a Kansas neighborhood.
The structure fire was first reported shortly before 5 a.m. Thursday in Ogden, about 10 miles southwest of Manhattan. Riley County Fire Chief Pat Collins says the state fire marshal is on scene.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Traffic is being diverted around the area.
No other details were immediately released, including the names of the victims. State and county fire officials didn’t immediately return phone messages from The Associated Press.
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RILEY COUNTY — Authorities closed the 200 Block of Riley Avenue early Thursday, according to the Riley County Police.
First responders are on the scene of a structure fire in Ogden.
We will report additional details as they become available.