STL Today
ST. LOUIS — A fire that destroyed a 197-unit apartment in St. Louis is stirring debate about the use of lightweight, synthetic building materials over brick and real wood.
The fire broke out Tuesday night at the apartment complex in the city’s Central West End, near the Saint Louis University campus. No one was killed or injured but about 250 residents were displaced.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ( http://bit.ly/ML9llq) reports that Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson initially thought the fire moved so quickly that the building lacked fire walls or other barriers. He stepped back from those comments on Wednesday but said he still has questions about the materials used for the building, even if they were allowed by code.
Full story: St. Louis fire chief questions building materials