VERSAILLES, Mo. — An apartment building caught fire Friday night, threatening the historic district of downtown Versailles. The blaze began before 1 a.m. on Friday, May 25, at 108 North Monroe Street.
John Silvey captured incredible video footage of the burning building. “I drove by the square and noticed what I thought was steam coming out of a vent,” Silvey said. He pulled over and approached a Versailles City Police Officer and asked him if he smelled smoke. While on patrol the officer had discovered the fire and told Silvey that a fire truck was on the way. He asked Silvey if he knew whether or not anyone was in the building. “I told him all I knew is the apartment was currently being remodeled,” Silvey said.
Silvey pulled his vehicle out of the way and videoed the fire as it progressed and firefighters responded.
The fire in the second story apartment above the Versailles License Bureau was quickly expanding. Being located in the historic section of Versailles, the apartment is surrounded by turn-of-the-century structures, including the majestic 1882 Bank of Versailles building. Silvey’s timely video follows the advancement of the fire from smoke billowing out of the windows, to the explosion of five windows due to the fire’s heat. The explosion violently ejected glass out onto the street, followed by a burst of light, caused by fire flashing out of the windows.
According to Versailles City Fire Chief Dwayne Miller, firefighters arrived on the scene at 12:55 a.m. to find heavy black smoke coming out of five windows of the apartment. “The engine was placed below the apartment and hose was pulled,” Chief Miller said. At this point, the smoke turned to flames as the fire intensified. Mutual aid was requested from the Gravois Fire Protection District. The Versailles Rural Fire Department responded with automatic mutual aid. One engine was placed on standby at the Versailles City Fire Station, in the case of a simultaneous emergency call.
Firefighters attacked the fire with two 2.75-inch water lines. The initial attack to knock down the flames to white smoke (which indicates the fire is out) took 1.5 hours. A team of firefighters then gained entry to the apartment and fought the fire from inside. The fire was located in the front half of the apartment. Firefighters entered the license bureau and covered computers and tables with tarps in an effort to protect them from water damage.
The apartment was unoccupied at the time of the fire and was in the process of being remodeled. No one was injured in this fire. The license bureau sustained water damage, an apartment above the Versailles Barber Shop suffered smoke damage, and the front portion of the apartment that was on fire was completely destroyed. Firefighters left the scene at 5:01 a.m.
Three apparatus and nineteen personnel responded to this fire. Versailles Police Officers Eric Helstrom and Kerry Roberts and a Missouri Department of Conservation Agent were also on the scene.
According to Chief Miller, the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Fire Marshal.
“It was sad watching those historic buildings burn,” Silvey said. “We have a good group of firefighters. They put their lives on the line and they are always there to do the job. Some of them have been firefighters for 25 years. I take my hat off to them.”
Chief Miller thanked all the responding agencies. “The success of getting it wrapped up was a team effort,” he commended.
