Firefighters battle blazes Friday, Sunday at Cape storage facility

Firefighters fought two fires within three days at a Cape Girardeau self-storage facility.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department, along with other local departments, responded to a call at 6:55 a.m. Friday at Red Dot Storage in the 2300 block of Bloomfield Street.

A total of 16 storage units and the contents inside were damaged because of the fire. A 17th unit did not appear to sustain much damage. Firefighters worked to remove debris from each of the damaged units.

Norman Baker, Cape Girardeau battalion chief, said he had never responded to a call for a storage unit complex in his years of service and, because the units were locked, extinguishing the fire was difficult.

No cause has been determined.

At about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Cape Girardeau firefighters responded to another call of smoke coming from a storage unit at Red Dot, according to an incident report issued Sunday by acting Battalion Chief Andrew Juden.

Firefighters were met with heavy smoke and fire coming from one of the units, and moderate smoke emanating from several others, the report stated.

The fire was contained to the original unit and was placed under control within 20 minutes, according to the report, which estimated the damage at $25,000.

Juden said Sunday’s fire was within the same units damaged Friday. The Missouri state fire marshal and the Cape Girardeau Police Department are investigating both incidents, he said.

One engine from Jackson Fire Rescue aided the Cape Girardeau Fire Department at the scene Sunday, and units from the Gordonville and East County fire protection districts backfilled Cape Girardeau fire stations, the report stated.