Anderson, Mo.
A fast-moving fire this week killed nine residents and a staff member at a group home for the mentally ill and handicapped. Eighteen other people were hospitalized. The blaze engulfed the Anderson Guest House, a one-story building that housed 32 residents and two attendants. Gov. Matt Blunt called the blaze suspicious, but investigators turned up no immediate evidence of arson. The facility lacked a sprinkler system, but had passed its most recent state inspection, in March. Witnesses said the staff member who died had been trying to help the injured out of the building.
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