Firefighters say GPS didn’t cause delay responding to Cass County house fire
RAYMORE, Mo. — A bridge in Cass County has reportedly been out for more than a decade, but neighbors say first responders are still trying to use it.
The latest questions come after a home in unincorporated Raymore, Missouri was destroyed by a fire late last week.
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The South Fire Metro District says incomplete information is to blame for what it categorizes as an insignificant delay, not faulty GPS.
Neither the Fire Marshal or Chief were able to access records Wednesday to provide an exact arrival time, but estimated it was eleven minutes after the alarm went out at 4:04 a.m. The nearest fire station is four minutes away.
It took us three minutes to get around to the other side of the creek Wednesday. But neighbors say that doesn’t take into account backing a fire truck down a dark gravel road.
A neighbor saw the flashing lights on the north side of Middle Big Creek that spills out of Raintree lake, then the fire on the other.
“I came out on my back deck and I saw there was a fire across the creek and they were attempting to get across the creek,” she said.
It’s something neighbors say happens all the time on the dead end road, where a bridge used to connect North Mullen years ago near 160th and Ward.
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“So there’s the concern that the GPS is not telling people and it’s not just the fire truck. There’s other cars that come down this road and stuff and they can’t get through and they turn around in our driveway,” the neighbor said. “I don’t care if they use our driveway that’s not the point. The point is the safety issue.”
While South Metro Fire District says it was likely just their first responding fire truck, neighbors say five emergency vehicles all took the wrong path to the fire at the home declared a complete loss.
Investigators say confusion stemmed from the 911 call coming from the other side of the creek, from a caller who wasn’t sure exactly where the fire was.
The total way around is just under a mile, but neighbors say every second counts.
“By the time they realize they can’t go down they have to make sure they are safe enough to back up and all the other EMS and ambulances that were behind them have to back up too and go,” the neighbor said.
No one was inside the home at the time of the fire. According to published records, it had just been sold a few days before. Firefighters say the fire remains under investigation.
