Sheriff’s department investigating fire at apartment on Highway 181 as arson


Firefighters from four Ozark County fire departments, including Gainesville firefighters Sage McGinnis, left, and John Russo, in front of the tree, responded to a Jan. 23 apartment fire on Shady Oaks Circle off Highway 181 in Gainesville. This photo of the fully engulfed structure was snapped soon after firefighters arrived on scene. Photo submitted.

The apartment fire at the former Wagon Wheel Court in Gainesville caused the greatest damage in the rear of the building, shown here, which was declared a total loss. The Missouri State Fire Marshal’s office has ruled that the fire was “incendiary,” meaning it was set. Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Cpl. Curtis Dobbs said the sheriff’s department is currently investigating the fire as an arson. Officers do have persons of interest, he said, but charges had not been filed at press time. Times photo/Jessi Dreckman.

The Ozark County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a Jan. 23 arson fire that heavily damaged an apartment residence on Shady Oaks Circle, formerly known as Wagon Wheel Court, off Highway 181 in Gainesville.

It was around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23, when a concerned citizen reportedly called the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department to report the strong odor of smoke in the area. A deputy was dispatched but was unable to find anything burning, fire officials told the Times last week. However, officials were able to pinpoint the location later when next door neighbor Michael Denton saw flames coming from a window of the apartment and called the sheriff’s department to report the fire. 

Gainesville, Lick Creek, Caney Mountain and Timber Knob volunteer fire departments were dispatched to the scene, along with the Ozark County Ambulance, sheriff’s deputies and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. When officials arrived, the apartment was fully engulfed.

The firefighters  were unable to save the structure, but they did keep the fire from spreading to neighboring structures that stand about 15 to 18 feet from the burned apartment. 

Apparently no one was at the scene when firefighters arrived, and  no bodies were found within the burned structure, a firefighter told the Times last week. After the blaze was extinguished, the Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office was called to investigate the blaze.

“The fire was ruled as incendiary, or set, and is under investigation,” Mike O’Connell, the communications director for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, told the Times in an email. “The Ozark County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation following the cause and origin.”

Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Cpl. Curtis Dobbs, who also serves as a certified fire investigator with the state of the Missouri, said Monday that the sheriff’s department is investigating the fire as an arson. When asked if deputies had any suspects in the case, Dobbs said no official suspect had been identified yet.

“I have some persons of interest, but I’ll have to see where the evidence takes me,” he said.

Dobbs said that Bruce Durbin owned the apartment buildings until his death in September 2016. The property has been proceeding through the court system since then, and a bank had recently regained ownership of the buildings.

“There were several people living there, and they were offered a ‘cash for key’ type of arrangement,” Dobbs said, “…meaning if they agreed to clean and vacate the premises, they would be compensated, quite substantially. And some of these people weren’t paying anything to stay there to begin with. They were basically squatting.”

It was unclear at press time whether any of the residents who were asked to vacate the property are now considered persons of interests in the case. 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423