KANSAS CITY'S BREAKING NEWS: 3-ALARM FIRE IN KC-MO

A 3rd-alarm fire is raging in the Kansas City-MO East Bottoms.

A building with "numerous" truck trailers is involved at 4900 Stillwell.

The alarm was sounded just before 10pm and at least 10 KC-MO Fire companies are responding.

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2223CST UPDATE - The fire at 4900 Stillwell has gone to a 4th-alarm.

Burning is a large- warehouse-type building "filled with wooden pallets and forklifts" a chief said earlier. There have been a number of mostly small explosions in the structure- barely missing some firefighters about 15 minutes ago. No injuries yet reported.

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2255CST UPDATE - More than half of the on-duty force of the KC-MO fire department is battling a 4-alarm fire at 4900 Stillwell in the East Bottoms.

The fire is not under control yet- at least 6 ladder companies are just now applying their aerial streams ("fly pipes") in a purely defensive firefight in the large structure and possibly those adjacent to it.

This fire would be much more interesting than the ad-nausem repeat late-nite talk shows on TV- but unfortunately a rare 4-alarm fire is apparently not compelling TV.

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0020 CST UPDATE: It's been nearly 2-1/2-hours now since the 2159 CST initial alarm was sounded on what resulted to be a "5-alarm" fire at a pallet company's warehouse at 4900 Stillwell.

The fire still has not been officially declared under control- but is contained to the original fire building.

The flames- which at points shot several hundred feet into a huge billow of smoke- have destroyed that large building and has caused yet-unknown collateral damage to other properties.

There has been some off-duty callback of KC-MO firefighters to man reserve apparatus. At least 4 different fire departments are providing mutual-aid at the fire or in empty KC-MO firehouses.

If the fire is not bad enough- a head-on collision has been reported and confirmed on westbound M-152 at or near North Oak at 12:15am..

Multiple serious to critical injuries are reported- "4 people trapped in a car"- and a medical helicopter has been ordered.

Tune in KSHB-NBC-41 News at 5am for more details and video on both stories.

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