News Update
Fire burns apartments in McKinney
Courtesy of First Response Photography - Firefighters clean up the scene after a fire Sunday evening at the Bent Creek apartments in McKinney. Fire, smoke or water damaged about 16 units, but no one was injured.
By Chris Beattie, cbeattie@starlocalnews.com
A two-alarm structure fire burned several apartment units but injured no one Sunday evening in McKinney.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m., McKinney fire personnel responded to a fire at the Bent Creek apartment complex off Wilson Creek Boulevard just south of Virginia Street. The call came in as a "fire in the dryer," said Stacie Durham, MFD spokeswoman.
"Usually, that results from not cleaning the lint filter," she said, adding that MFD is still investigating the fire's cause. "It becomes highly flammable."
About 33 MFD members responded to the fire, which affected 16 units in one building and displaced multiple residents. No one was injured or burned in the fire. Four units had burn damage, and the rest suffered just smoke and/or water damage, Durham said.
Emergency personnel are still investigating the exact cause of the fire.
No smoke alarms were beeping when firefighters arrived on scene, and they soon discovered that many units had disconnected or battery-less smoke alarms, she said.
"The risk of dying is twice as high in a home without working smoke alarms," she said. "We are fortunate that this fire occurred at a time of day when most residents were awake. Everyone evacuated safely. Had the fire occurred just a few hours later, when most residents were sleeping, the outcome could likely have been deadly."
A witness said that police abruptly arrested a man at the scene, but that the arrest may have been unrelated to the fire. Neither Durham nor Deputy Police Chief Joe Ellenburg knew anything about an arrest.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m., McKinney fire personnel responded to a fire at the Bent Creek apartment complex off Wilson Creek Boulevard just south of Virginia Street. The call came in as a "fire in the dryer," said Stacie Durham, MFD spokeswoman.
"Usually, that results from not cleaning the lint filter," she said, adding that MFD is still investigating the fire's cause. "It becomes highly flammable."
About 33 MFD members responded to the fire, which affected 16 units in one building and displaced multiple residents. No one was injured or burned in the fire. Four units had burn damage, and the rest suffered just smoke and/or water damage, Durham said.
Emergency personnel are still investigating the exact cause of the fire.
No smoke alarms were beeping when firefighters arrived on scene, and they soon discovered that many units had disconnected or battery-less smoke alarms, she said.
"The risk of dying is twice as high in a home without working smoke alarms," she said. "We are fortunate that this fire occurred at a time of day when most residents were awake. Everyone evacuated safely. Had the fire occurred just a few hours later, when most residents were sleeping, the outcome could likely have been deadly."
A witness said that police abruptly arrested a man at the scene, but that the arrest may have been unrelated to the fire. Neither Durham nor Deputy Police Chief Joe Ellenburg knew anything about an arrest.
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