Pottawatomie County fire and emergency crews rescued two people from a structure fire in St.Marys early Friday morning. The sheriff’s department reports at 5:15 a.m., the St Marys Fire, St Marys Police, Rossville Fire, Pottawatomie County EMS and the Pottawatomie County Sheriffs Department responded to the fire at 510 West Mission.
“We had two people trapped on the upper floor in the bedroom and the neighbors heard them,” said St. Marys Fire Chief Dan Marstall. “They came over with a 12- or 15-foot step ladder and we approached and got them rescued out of the house.”
Marstall added that with the help of five firefighters from Rossville, they were able put out the flames in 15 to 20 minutes. However, the severe cold weather did pose an added difficulty for the crew.
“We didn’t have anything freeze up on us, but we did have water leaks that created ice issues,” he said.
Although the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, Marstall said it appears to have started in the bathroom of the house. The scene is currently in the clean-up stage, and the crew is working to calculate the damages sustained in the incident.