A Jasper man, his fiancée, and her two small children have been displaced after a kitchen fire broke out late this morning in the their southeast Jasper apartment.
Shortly after 11:30 am today, units with the Jasper Volunteer Fire Department were called to a duplex occupied by Sheldon Kempf, his fiancée and children located along the 400 block of Rumbach Avenue.
Jasper Fire Chief Kenny Hochgesang says Kempf’s fiancée was in a back bedroom along with her children, two boys ages one and two, when a pan left on the apartment’s kitchen stove ignited.
Hochgesang says they were alerted by a smoke detector and says she was able to get herself and the children out of the apartment safely before calling 911.
Hochgesang says the apartment received heavy fire, heat and water damage and is not livable at this time. He says the occupants will be staying with family for the time being and that the American Red Cross has been called in to assist with immediate needs.
Hochgesang says Kempf had renters insurance which he stressed is very important in order for the victims to replace their lost belongings.
Four trucks along with 28 men responded to the scene for a little more than an hour braving extreme cold conditions as temperatures at the time the blaze broke out were in the upper teens to lower 20’s with wind chills in the single digits to near zero.
They were assisted at the scene by Memorial Hospital Emergency Medical Services and the Jasper Police Department.
