WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. — Firefighters across St. Louis County rushed to extinguish a fire at Webster Groves senior living facility early Sunday morning.
Around 5 a.m., a second-alarm fire broke out at the Laclede Groves Lutheran Senior Services facility on Laclede Station Road. Fire crews from across St. Louis County helped rescue 18 people from the impacted floors.
Officials said that some people were rescued from the stairwells. One person was taken to the hospital with non-serious injuries for treatment.
The following fire departments assisted with the early morning fire: Shrewsbury, Affton, Brentwood, Maplewood, Mehlville, Glendale, Kirkwood, Clayton, Richmond Heights, and Rock Hill.
Bill Wichman has lived at Laclede Groves for over two years. He said it's a wonderful place to live.
Wichman was one of several residents that woke up to the commotion Sunday morning.
"[I] just wondered what was going on," he said. "[I've] got a sister that lives in that same building, and so she pretty much called [me] right away and said, 'Oh, my gosh, there's a lot of activity up here."
This is definitely an area you don't want to have fires said Wichman. He expressed gratitude for the swift action of firefighters because the loss could've been greater.
"When they built them, they're all concrete, so they're built like a tank, and then you don't need sprinkler systems," he said.
"Webster's good at getting over here all the time. Unfortunately, the ambulances are here a lot just because of the community, but they're really quick to respond, so it's a great community to live in," Wichman said.
No other information is available. The story will be updated with the latest information once it becomes available.
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