Neighbors push for demolition of Olive Park Village after rash of fires at KCMO apartment complex

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Neighbors are calling for action after the Kansas City Fire Department responded to nearly 20 fires at Olive Park Village in Kansas City since January, with the most recent blaze breaking out Tuesday.

Neighbor Michaela Naughtin, who has lived in the area for more than two years, said she was jolted awake by sirens around 4 a.m. Tuesday.

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"I was sound asleep," she told KSHB 41 Reporter Fernanda Silva. It was about 4 a.m., and I heard the fire siren; which this was of course not the first occasion."

She recorded video from her front steps as the fire burned.

"I go out on the front steps and it is absolutely blazing," she said. "There was ash getting on our vehicles, getting in our yard. It was pretty detrimental. It was a very large fire."

Naughtin said the frequent fires have taken a toll on the neighborhood.

"It definitely put a damper on the spirit of this little corner over here," Naughtin said.

Kansas City Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins said the fires at the property have become a source of frustration for crews.

"Obviously, as firefighters, we like fighting fire," Hopkins said. "That's what we signed up to do. But it does get frustrating when you come back to the same properties over and over again.:

Hopkins said the fires carry real consequences for firefighters and city resources.

"It puts our members at risk," he said. "And we have had some members, you know, step through and fall through some floors going in to do searches in these. There's a lot of cost — both emotionally and financially, when we're sending our people into these vacant structure fires."

Hopkins said fire investigators have turned the most recent fires over to the KCMO Police Department Bomb and Arson Unit for criminal investigations.

"We won't be sad when they're all torn down," Hopkins said.

The Independence Plaza Neighborhood Council has taken the property owners to court.

Board member Chloe Willett, who lives blocks away, and has been in the neighborhood for about six years, said the council got involved after fires began in 2024.

Willett said the decline of the complex has been painful to witness.

"The way that this apartment complex has declined over the last several years is so disheartening," Willett said.

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The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council is now pushing for immediate safety measures and demolition.

"It's an eyesore," said Councilman Nathan Willett said "I mean, it's a big safety concern for everyone who lives around here."

Willett said the neighborhood council is moving as quickly as the legal process allows.

"We are kind of at a standstill until we get the next judgment in," Willett said. "I think there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I can see it. I think it feels a little far away, but it's there."

I reached out to Millennia Companies, the property owners, but didn't hear back.

I also reached out to Olive Park Village's attorney on Friday evening.

Via email, he said with the ongoing litigation, he couldn't give me an interview or make any comment on short notice without consulting with his client.

He mentioned an ethical duty of confidentiality to their client while litigation is ongoing.

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The City of Kansas City told me it has already completed the demolition of one of the buildings and another has an emergency demolition order.

According to officials, the city pays for the demolition and then bills the owner for the costs.

Naughtin said she hopes the neighborhood can recover.

"It would just be great if we could have the community back here," Naughtin said.

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