LifeStyle

Thursday, 23rd July

Fire damages vacant house

Topeka firefighters worked through heavy smoke Saturday to extinguish a fire at a vacant house near S.W. 6th and Buchanan.

Crews responding to a structure fire about 5:50 p.m. arrived to find heavy smoke coming from a two-story house at 1216 S.W. 6th. Firefighters set up a defensive approach after discovering flames coming from the basement.

Thick smoke pouring out of the chimney and windows of the house could be seen drifting along S.W. 6th from nearly a mile away. Crews were able to make entry through a back door and contain the blaze.

Thursday, 23/07/2009, 4:33 am

Arsons plague neighborhood

One Topeka neighborhood has been rocked by four arsons in the past three weeks, Topeka fire officials said.

The latest was a fire on Sunday evening at an abandoned apartment building at 634 S.W. Taylor, which investigators Monday morning ruled as arson.

Firefighters got that blaze under control at 3:40 a.m. and didn’t leave the scene until shortly before 5 a.m.

That intentionally set fire follows Saturday’s blaze four blocks north at 1216 S.W. 6th, where crews battled a fire in an abandoned two-story house.

Thursday, 23/07/2009, 4:33 am