‘You gotta get out!’: Blaze destroys Dupo apartment building

A large blaze destroyed an apartment complex Wednesday morning in Dupo, but no one was injured.

Firefighters from multiple departments were called. The building was engulfed. Flames ripped through the roof and out the doors. Almost the whole roof caved in.

Fire crews at one point blasted the horns on the fire trucks as a signal for all firefighters to get out of the building. Firefighters initially appeared to have trouble with water pressure.

Firefighters said fire got into the walls, which caused the blaze to spread quickly through the older structure.

Resident Kim Skaggs said her 12-year-old daughter Abigail and dog Scooter escaped the blaze. Scooter hid under a bed; firefighters had to go into the building twice to rescue him.

Resident Bob Zeroj said he was asleep when he heard a knock at the door.

“I was woke up by the chief of police,” Zeroj said. “He was yelling, ‘The building is on fire! You gotta get out!’”

The fire was reported about 11:30 a.m. at an apartment complex in the 400 block of Lindemann Avenue. One resident said she was told the fire started at a clothes dryer.

Firefighters from the Dupo, Columbia, Cahokia, Alorton, Signal Hill and Prairie Du Pont departments were dispatched. An ambulance unit from Dupo also was called.

Dupo police officers arrived first and evacuated the building.

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 12:06 PM with the headline "‘You gotta get out!’: Blaze destroys Dupo apartment building."