Mt. Vernon Fire Chief Kevin Sargent says no one was injured when a former church building at 11-01 Perkins that was converted into apartments burned in a Wednesday afternoon fire.
The owner has now been identified as Jesse Noell of Mt. Vernon. The lone apartment occupant at the time the fire started was Robert Niesporck. He was successfully woken up by a Mt. Vernon Police Officer and got out of the building safely.
Sargent says there were three to four apartments in the building along with a resale shop in the basement. Video from a neighboring homeowner showed that the blaze was apparently electrical in nature with no foul play. Sargent says the building will be a total loss.
Sargent says firefighting efforts were hampered by the balloon-type construction. After laying several water lines to fight the fire, the aerial truck was put into place to shoot water into the fire below.
The Red Cross was called to assist the four occupants of the building. He reports the owner had no insurance.
The fire call came in at 2:58 Wednesday afternoon. Firemen remained on the scene for about three hours. Kell, Woodlawn, Waltonville, and Jefferson Fire Protection District all provided mutual aid on the scene.
(Update adds name of building owner and occupant who got out safely)
