Multiple apartment units were evacuated this morning (around 7:45am Nov. 2) when a kitchen fire started in a large apartment complex along Wells Avenue in Pierre.
Pierre Volunteer Fire Department chief Ian Paul says upon arrival to the 700 block of East Wells Avenue, voluntary evacuation was in progress because tenants were seeing smoke on multiple floors. Firefighters and law enforcement officers continued to evacuate the remaining apartment units.
Paul says there were initially mixed reports from the tenants on the exact location of the fire. He says firefighters located the correct apartment unit and extinguished what blaze remained.
The fire was first discovered and reported by a tenant walking down the hall who noticed smoke pouring out of an apartment. This tenant grabbed a fire extinguisher and crawled into the involved apartment to ensure no one was trapped. He saw the bulk of the fire and used an extinguisher to slow the fire growth; however the apartment door was left open and smoke filled much of the adjoining hallways.
Paul says thankfully the fire was contained to the efficiency apartment located on the ground floor of the south building. Although there was smoke throughout both apartment buildings, all tenants were able to return home with the exception of the unit that was involved with fire.
Firefighters were on scene approximately 2 hours. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation but not considered suspicious.
Response agencies included Pierre Volunteer Fire Department, Fort Pierre Volunteer Fire Department, AMR, Pierre Police Department, Hughes County Sheriff’s Office and the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
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