BonnerSprings.com

A fire destroyed two apartments and damaged another at a Bonner Springs apartment building early Friday morning.

The fire began on the balcony of a second-floor apartment at 13122 Richland Avenue before 5 a.m.

Residents were able to escape the blaze without serious injury. However, some residents were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Bonner Springs firefighters had the fire under control within 20 minutes of arrival, but not before the second and third floor apartments on the northwest side of the building were destroyed. The first floor apartment on the northwest side received heavy water and some fire damage.

The remaining apartments in the 12-unit building had some smoke damage and one apartment had slight water damage, Fire Chief Warren Hanks said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Smoke detectors were installed in the building, but automatic sprinklers were not, Hanks said.

The building was one of the last structures built before the city adopted a sprinkler system ordinance.

However, because the fire started on the balcony, a sprinkler system would not have stopped the outside of the building from being damaged, Hanks said.

Firewalls between the west and east apartments kept the fire from spreading further into the building.

"The construction of the building helped hold the fire to those apartments," Hanks said.

Fire caused about $200,000 in damage.

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