ST. LOUIS – An early morning fire near Gravois Park in south St. Louis has left several neighbors upset.
They say they have reported the abandoned building repeatedly to the city and feel the entire situation could have been avoided if the city knocked it down after already catching fire earlier this spring.
The fire happened around 2 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Tennessee Avenue and Miami Street in the Gravois Park neighborhood.
Fire officials tell us it got out of control so fast they had to fight it completely from the exterior as flames started shooting through the roof. It took as many as 30 firefighters over a couple of hours to put out all of the hotspots.
The area lingered with the smell of smoke around the building late Tuesday. The fire, which started on the building’s second floor, even damaged the home next to it. A crew with a local restoration company told FOX 2 the neighbor’s home has water damage on every floor, and will need new floors, siding, and dry wall. They said the owner may not be able to move back in for months.
Fire officials don’t know how the fire started. Neighbors call the building a “problem property” that inevitably was going to attracts squatters. Another neighbor said the owner lives out-of-state, compounding the problem.
Neighbors hope Tuesday’s incident will at least force a change, as they feel abandoned properties are an issue city-wide. Kristina Darden wishes the city will finally come in and knock down the eyesore.
“This is a community that we are trying to make safe and do what we can,” Darden said. I just hope that with this being gone, that that’s the start of something–something reviving for the neighborhood. That’s what I hope.”
Alderman Shane Cohn represents Ward 3, which includes the Gravois Park neighborhood. He said he’s happy to review the structure with the city’s building commissioner on possible remedies, including up to demolition depending on its condition.
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