A first-alarm fire tore through a vacant three-story brick building in the 3900 block of North 21st Street in St. Louis on Friday, pushing firefighters to pull back, order an evacuation and switch to a defensive attack. Flames were reported heavy on the first and second floors, and as conditions inside went downhill, crews shifted operations outside. Fire officials said there were no injuries and confirmed that all personnel were accounted for at the scene.
Video posted by St. Louis Fire Department shows Battalion 1 in command and Engine Company 8 as the first-due unit. Crews initially stretched a single attack line, then brought in an aerial waterway along with three hand lines while working to protect a nearby building on side B. Battalion 1 ordered the structure evacuated as fire spread rapidly and structural conditions deteriorated, and the department reported that all members were accounted for at the scene.
Why Vacant Buildings Are a Hazard
St. Louis continues to wrestle with a huge stock of derelict properties, with roughly 25,000 vacant parcels citywide, including about 8,000 vacant buildings. Those empty structures are involved in a disproportionate share of fire responses, according to city officials and local reporting, and the risks are far from theoretical. In St. Louis and other cities, fires in abandoned buildings can move quickly and behave unpredictably, and NIOSH investigations along with local coverage have flagged those conditions as contributors to firefighter injuries and deaths, including the 2022 collapse that killed Firefighter Benjamin Polson. The City of St. Louis has documented the vacancy figures, while Firehouse has detailed the NIOSH findings on the fatal collapse.
At the Scene
As the blaze intensified, crews transitioned fully to a defensive posture, operating outside the collapse zone and pouring water from the aerial waterway and multiple hand lines while shielding neighboring structures. Battalion 1 ordered all firefighters out as interior conditions worsened, and companies were positioned on side B to keep flames from spreading to adjacent properties. According to the St. Louis Fire Department, firefighters reported no injuries and confirmed that every member was successfully accounted for…