A small, accidental fire on Friday morning caused an evacuation of Belmont Towers and one resident received an injury.
The Parsons Fire Department was called at 9:24 a.m. Friday to the Towers, 1900 Belmont.
Fire Chief Brad Boss said throw pillows in an unoccupied wheelchair in a first floor apartment were accidentally set afire, causing smoke in that apartment and adjacent apartments. He said residents heard the alarm and did well to evacuate the building.
The smoldering wheelchair was pushed outside the building before firefighters arrived. A man sitting next to the wheelchair in the room, David Wilkerson, received a burn injury and treatment from medical personnel.
T he floor where the fire started received minor damage. Firefighters removed smoke from nearby apartments before residents returned.
The Labette County Judicial Center and the Parsons Senior Center opened their doors to those displaced until they could return to their apartments, according to the Parsons Police Department’s Facebook page.
