Trish Svoboda/Images courtesy of the City of Manhattan/Manhattan Fire Department
The Manhattan Fire Department released it was dispatched at 6:13 a.m. Tuesday morning to respond to a structure fire at 509 Pierre St. Crews arrived to find a two-story residential building on fire with smoke and flames coming from the second floor. Two people were on the roof of the front porch, including a passerby that had used a ladder to help someone out of the second-story window, according to the release.
After the driver of Quint 2 raised a ladder to help the people off the roof, firefighters entered the structure to find an occupant reported to still be inside. The person was found unconscious and removed from the burning building. Both occupants were transported by Riley County EMS. One dog that survived the fire was transported by Riley County Animal Control to K-State Vet Med. Two other occupants had evacuated the building prior to the department arriving. The passerby had no injuries.
The release states the fire was contained within 15 minutes.
Loss for the two-story residential building is estimated at $50,000 to contents, and $75,000 to the structure. In total, 18 firefighters responded on six fire apparatus. The last units cleared at about 8:00 a.m.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Assisting Manhattan Fire Investigators in the investigation are the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office and Riley County Police Department.