No Injuries in Maplewood Apartment Fire

An apartment fire on Anna Avenue brought more than 10 fire departments to Maplewood on Monday morning.

No injuries were reported in what was classified as a two-alarm fire. All 12 units of the building were evacuated.

The fire burned in a third-floor apartment at 7227 Anna Avenue.

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Candice Spann, who lives on the same floor, was the one who called 911.

“I just heard a bunch of screaming, and I came outside and there was a lot of fire,” she said. “The fire was outside of the apartment, so I called 911. I was concerned about all the residents to get out.”

Lamar Bogan, who lives on the second floor, wasn't sure what the sounds were at first.

“They came knocking on the door...I heard, boom, boom, boom boom," he said. "There was a lady at my door. She was from the ambulance and she told me to evacuate.”

Calls came in around 6:30 a.m., said Terry Merrell, chief of the . He said the fire could be seen from quite a distance.

“We arrived, there were flames and heavy smoke showing from all the windows and the door,” he said. “The crews knocked most of it down within the first 15 to 20 minutes.”

He called a second alarm to bring extra support.

“If the fire would get beyond the control of the first alarm crew, we want to be ready,” he said. “We want to have those extra crews here just in case something went wrong.”

They continued for about another 35 minutes to extinguish hot spots. The fire damage was contained to the single apartment and its roof, while units below sustained water damage.

Merrell said the investigation to determine the cause will take some time because the building is damaged.