The Reporter newspaper, Camdenton Missouri

The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

Mid-County Fire Protection District firefighters attack a fire in the basement of a home in the 1200 block of Ballpark Road last week on what would turn out to be a busy day for the district. It was determined that the fire was started by an electrical short in the ceiling of the basement. (Photo courtesy MCFPD)

Published June 20, 2018

Busy Monday for Mid-County Fire Protection District

CAMDEN COUNTY – The Mid-County Fire Protection District (MCFPD) firefighters found themselves busy last Monday (June 11) with four incidents nearly back to back.

The first call came in at 12:02 p.m., when the MCFPD was dispatched to a reported residential structure fire in the 1200 block of Ballpark Road just outside the city limits of Camdenton.

First arriving units found a modular home with heavy smoke showing from the basement. Firefighters made entry into the structure and encountered heavy smoke and intense heat.

The fire was located in the basement and firefighters brought the incident under control in approximately 15 minutes. Fire damage was contained to the basement area with smoke damage throughout the entire structure.

The MCFPD was assisted at the scene by an engine from the Osage Beach Fire Protection District, an ambulance from the Camden County Ambulance District and deputies from the Camden County Sheriff’s Department.

The fire was investigated by the MCFPD Fire Marshal and was found to be caused by an electrical short in the ceiling of the basement.

There were no injuries however several firefighters were treated at the scene for heat exhaustion.

All units cleared the scene at 1:36 PM. That gave them approximately 33 minutes before the next call.

At 2:09 p.m. MCFPD was dispatched to a reported commercial structure fire at the MoBell Telcom Office at the intersection of Old North 5 and Harvest Road.

First arriving units found a two-story commercial property with heavy smoke showing in the top floor/attic of the structure.

Firefighters gained entry into the structure to find excessive heat. They cut a hole in the roof to relieve the heat level for the firefighters inside the structure and began extinguishing the fire.

Firefighters brought the incident under control in approximately 45 minutes. The majority of the fire damage was contained to the upper floor with smoke and water damage throughout the structure.

The fire was investigated by the MCFPD Fire Marshal and found that the fire originated near an HVAC unit in the attic.

Numerous firefighters were treated at the scene for heat exhaustion and two firefighters were treated for debris in their eyes. None of those treated required transport to the hospital.

MCFPD was assisted on the scene by an engine from the Osage Beach Fire Protection District and an engine and ladder from the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District, an ambulance from the Camden County Ambulance District and deputies from the Camden County Sheriff’s Department.

Additionally, an engine from the Lebanon Fire Department moved to MCFPD Station Number 1 in Camdenton to cover additional incidents.

Lake Ozark Fire Protection District and Gravois Fire Protection District assisted with covering incidents for Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District. All units cleared the scene at 4:27 p.m.

At the same time firefighters were operating at the commercial structure fire, MCFPD was dispatched to two more incidents.

The first incident was a reported “electric in the water” by a dock on Stonebraker Drive. This incident was handled by the MCFPD Fire Prevention Division.

The Assistant Fire Marshal arrived on scene and determined that there was electric in the water and the source of the electric. Laclede Electric responded to the scene and disconnected the power to the structure until the electric problem can be repaired.

The second incident was a reported motor vehicle accident on North State Highway 5, just North of the State Highway 7 intersection in Greenview. This incident was handled by an engine from the Sunrise Beach Fire Protection District. No other information is available on this call at this time.

“With the heat index approaching 100 degrees that day, both fire incidents took their toll on firefighters operating at both fires scenes,” MCFPD Chief Scott Frandsen said. “I would like to say THANK YOU to all of our firefighters and the firefighters from the neighboring fire districts who responded to assist MCFPD today during these incidents.”