HFD

At 3:20 a.m. Sunday, City of Hays emergency dispatchers were alerted to a building fire in the 200 block of West 12th. The City of Hays Fire Department, assisted by Ellis County Fire Department Company 5, the City of Hays Police Department and Ellis County EMS, was immediately dispatched.

First-arriving police officers reported a fire on the front porch of an occupied three-family dwelling at 213 W. 12th. Police officers held the fire in check with a fire extinguisher and evacuated the occupants of all three apartments.

Firefighters used one hose line supplied by one fire hydrant to extinguish the fire and check to make sure the fire had not spread from the porch into the rest of the structure. Firefighters used exhaust fans to remove smoke that had spread into the apartments.

Ellis County EMS paramedics checked the occupants to be sure no one was injured.

The fire was reported by a responsible resident passing by who promptly called 911.

The most probable cause of the fire was improperly discarded smoking materials. The porch suffered moderate fire damage. The was light smoke damage to the apartments.

Twenty-six firefighters staffing six fire trucks responded. The last fire crews left the scene at 4:45 a.m.

City of Hays firefighters reminds everyone who smokes to be sure to use non-combustible ashtrays and be careful not to dispose of smoking materials into combustible containers or combustible ground litter. It is important to have working smoke alarms located in the sleeping areas of all dwellings. The City of Hays Fire Department offers smoke and carbon monoxide alarms at no cost to senior citizens and others on fixed incomes who may not be able to afford this protection. Firefighters will also install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and change batteries for persons with limited mobility.

For more information, contact the City of Hays Fire Department at (785) 628-7330.