Columbia Fire Department responds to vehicle fire at Memorial Stadium, Dec. 17

On Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 1:44 a.m., Columbia Fire Department (CFD) units were dispatched by Boone County Joint Communications to multiple reports of heavy fire near Memorial Stadium. The first CFD crew arrived within five minutes to find a medium-sized "box truck" fully engulfed in flames, located in a secured construction zone parking lot within the north side of Memorial Stadium.

Firefighters forced entry to the area through security fencing and stretched handlines to the vehicle. Due to the large amount of fire, another vehicle and storage of materials nearby, an aerial device was utilized in addition to the handlines to control and improve efforts to extinguish the fire.

Firefighters were able to have the flames under control in approximately 15 minutes. Crews remained on scene for several hours to ensure no hotspots remained and prevent the release of a chemical reaction due to the construction equipment and materials stored in the vehicle.

Ten Columbia Fire units, comprising 20 personnel, responded to this incident. Unified Command was established with MU Emergency Management, CFD and MU Police to manage the incident through the recovery phase. There were no injuries to either firefighters or citizens from this event. Due to the large amount of water used, CFD placed measures to absorb any potential contaminants and reduce impacts to the environment.

The Columbia Fire Marshals are currently investigating the origin and cause of the fire.

Attachments:

• Crews utilizing aerial device to extinguish fire

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