28 July 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A home in west Wichita has major damage after a fire early Friday morning. Someone who lives in the home called 911 around 12:30 a.m. and said something possibly exploded, and the house was on fire.
The home is in the 1300 block of N. Murray, near 13th and Tyler.
When the Wichita Fire Department arrived, the two residents were outside, across the street. They said they got out through heavy smoke conditions.
The firefighters saw a lot of flames coming from the roof and the back of the home. They said the fire was on the back deck and had spread inside the home to both the first and second floors and the garage.
Crews began searching the home to make sure no one else was inside, but they had problems because of excessive storage throughout the house. They called for additional fire units to help.
The WFD says the heat and the advanced fire conditions in the home challenged the firefighters. Nearly all the interior ceilings had dropped.
The residents and the firefighters were uninjured.
Investigators are looking for the cause of the fire. There is no word yet on whether there was an explosion.