By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
MANHATTAN —Fire officials are investigating the cause of a fire at the office of Big Brothers and Big Sisters in Manhattan,
Just before 8:30 a.m., the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to a fire in a home at 519 Pierre Street, according to a media release.
Upon arrival, crews found a two-story house that had been converted to an office for Big Brothers Big Sisters, with fire coming from multiple windows in the rear of the building.
The fire reached a second alarm before it was contained within 90 minutes. The fire was knocked down within 20 minutes, but it took another hour to fully extinguish fire in concealed spaces.
A total of 20 firefighters responded on 5 fire apparatus, with the last fire units clearing at around 11:00 a.m. No injuries were reported. Loss is estimated at $10,000 to contents and $175,000 to the structure.
The owner is listed as Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters Inc. The cause is under investigation at this time
.Thanks to our partners, Riley County Fire District #1 responded with a mobile air unit, Riley County EMS provided rehabilitation for firefighters, and Riley County PD provided scene security.
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The Manhattan Fire Department reports fire caused considerable damage at the Big Brothers Big Sisters offices, 519 Pierre Street, in Manhattan.
There were not any injuries. Deputy Fire Chief Ryam Almes confimed that the cause of the blaze is under investigation.
Firefighters got the call just before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. When they arrived on scene they could see fire blowing out of five windows and toward the back of the house that contained the offices It took firefighters about one and a half hours to put the blaze out.
Big Brothers Big Sisters serves approximately 165 to 175 children annually over five counties including Riley, Geary, Pottawatomie, Lyon and Marshall counties.
The Area Director with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Michelle Sink, noted that they do not need a building to serve their children, where approximately 150 are from Riley County and 12 are from Geary County. To meet future needs, however, donations will be needed. (kansasbigs.org/donate-now )
Big Brothers Big Sisters employees were not at the offices at the time of the fire They were working from home because of the cold weather.