Saturday night fire claims one life

A Nevada Police officer looks on as firefighters direct a hose stream into the window of 1204 North Elm. Gabe Franklin/Daily Mail

Nevada Daily Mail

A fire at Elmwood estates Saturday evening claimed the life of a resident.

Nevada's Engine 219 responded to the report of a fire at 1104 North Elm Street in the Elmwood Estates apartments at 10:33 p.m. Before the fire department arrived, Western Missouri 911 reported that there were still people trapped in the building.

According to Nevada Fire Department's Chief William Thornton several residents of the building were rescued from the second and third floor by firefighters and by Nevada Police Department officers using ground ladders.

Chris Fahnestock, his brother Eric Ogle, and their mother Lena Gose were rescued from a third story department by the fire department. First floor resident Valeria Wyatt heard the fire alarm, and went out into the hallway to see the door to apartment No. 6 open and smoke coming out. She grabbed her dog and went outside. Wesley Seeley, also a first floor resident, woke up to smoke in his apartment but was not sure how he got outside.

Fahnestock said that one of the second floor residents jumped from the window and another went down a fire department ladder.

The fire originated in apartment No. 6 on the northwest corner of the building and eventually extended outside the building to the apartment above and to the roof. Damage to the third floor and to the roof was not as extensive as the damage to the apartment where the fire started.

During the secondary search of the building, a single victim was located in the apartment where the fire started. The victim, later identified as Regina Vose, was passed to a waiting ambulance from Vernon County Ambulance District.

According to Thornton, the fire was started by discarded smoking material in the bedroom of apartment No. 6. There were no other injuries reported.

Damage to the building has been estimated at $100,000.

Nevada Fire Department received mutual aide from Deerfield and Milo Fire Departments. Both departments brought an engine and an additional eight firefighters.

Nevada Fire Department Ladder 216 also responded to the scene and was used to access the roof of the building. A total of seven Nevada firefighters worked the fire. The last firefighters left the scene at 3 a.m.