A nearly 100-year-old commercial building housing Wildscapes- a masonry, landscape, fireplace and building supply business- located along U.S. Highway 50, just west of Warrensburg, was engulfed in flames on Friday, January 27.
A news release says the fire was reported at 9:45 a.m.
Johnson County Fire Protection District personnel arrived at the business four minutes after being dispatched and found the business fully involved in flames. Due to the wind and dry weather conditions, the fire quickly spread into the median of U.S. Highway 50 and into a field on the opposite side of the four-lane highway from the business. A power pole across the highway also burned. Two additional structures at the business were not damaged by the fire.
Four District stations were assigned to the incident.
“We quickly depleted the resources of one-third of our District,” Captain Joe Jennings said. “Two of our stations from Warrensburg responded, and we also pulled personnel from our stations in Centerview and Knob Noster to assist.”
Mutual-aid was received from the Warrensburg Fire Department, which responded with its ladder truck, as well as Johnson County Fire Protection District No. 2, which responded with a tanker to assist with hauling water to the scene.
Due to the rural location, water had to be transported to the scene. Five total tankers were utilized, and as of 5:30 p.m., had hauled approximately 120,000 gallons of water to the scene from a water source inside Warrensburg.
“Due to the size of the building and the fire involvement, the smoke crossing 50 Highway limiting visibility for traffic, and the fire spreading across the highway from the business, law enforcement was requested to assist with controlling traffic on the highway,” Jennings said. “The Missouri State Highway Patrol, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and Warrensburg Police Department all assisted along 50 Highway to slow traffic down and stop traffic as we were constantly hauling water into the scene. When we have constant civilian traffic through a massive active fire scene as well as our constant apparatus movement while bringing water in, we end up with an even more dangerous situation.”
Three employees were in the business at the time the fire was discovered and all three exited the building and were not injured.
As of 5:30 p.m., one firefighter was transported from the scene by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of medical needs. Three firefighters were evaluated by medical personnel at the scene but not transported.
“The firefighter transported by ambulance is in stable condition and is expected to recover,” Jennings said.
The Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Johnson County Fire Investigation Unit, which consisted of fire investigators from the Warrensburg Fire Department and University of Central Missouri Department of Public Safety, responded to investigate the origin and cause of the fire. The investigation is ongoing, and a cause has not been determined as of this release.
“The involved structure contained over 100-year-old oak construction. It did not take much time at all for the entire building to become fully engulfed. The structure is a total loss, and the loss is anticipated to exceed $1 million in damage,” Jennings said.
JCFPD was assisted by Evergy, Johnson County Ambulance District, Johnson County Fire Protection District No. 2, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Johnson County Volunteer Fire Auxiliary, Missouri State Highway Patrol, University of Central Missouri Department of Public Safety, Warrensburg Fire Department, Warrensburg Police Department and Warrensburg Public Works.
Photo courtesy Johnson County Fire Protection District