• St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said flames moved rapidly through attic spaces in a four-story apartment building in the city last month partly because modern construction materials meet code but do much less to retard fire than older construction methods.
• The apartments, owned by EdR Collegiate Housing of Memphis, Tenn., had working sprinklers and alarms and complied with state building codes, including "draft stops" in the attic.
• Fire investigators said the 197-unit building at 3949 Lindell Blvd. was too heavily damaged by fire and water for them to be able to find what started the fire.

From the article:

Less than an hour after firefighters arrived on the scene of a blaze at a Central West End apartment building Tuesday night, they were forced to evacuate as the top floor of the four-story structure began to collapse.

The flames spread so fast through the attic that firefighters thought something must be wrong with the building. ...