4 May 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A woman in her 60s was injured in a west Wichita house fire Wednesday night.
The fire broke out around 9:10 p.m. in the 700 block of N. McComas St.
According to the Wichita Fire Department (WFD), firefighters found a garage fully engulfed in flames upon arrival. The fire spread to the home and into the attic.
WFD Acting Battalion Chief Nicholas Woods says that as crews arrived on the scene, neighbors were reporting that someone was trapped inside.
“They just knew there was a disabled lady that lived in the basement and that she’s here all the time, and she’s gotta be there,” Woods said.
Crews began fighting the fire in the house.
“The fire was pushing into the home. We had an initial line went into the main floor of the home to try and back the fire coming in from the garage into the house off to allow the search companies to come in and start the search,” Woods said.
The search resulted in the woman being found in the basement.
Woods says Rescue Company One “was still experiencing pretty heavy fire conditions coming from the garage where they kind of had to shield her and kind of come out and basically with the flames coming over their head.”
The woman was initially triaged as being in critical condition due to smoke inhalation, according to Woods.
“Upon coming out, after some oxygen, a little further assessment, I’m not sure what the destination triage was,” Woods said.
She was taken to a local hospital for the treatment of her injuries.
The garage fire was put out.
Woods says the house and garage are pretty heavily damaged.
“There was extension into the attic and also into the living space,” Woods said. “So it’s pretty heavily damaged on the inside as well, both the garage and the interior [of the home].”
The cause of the fire has not been identified, but Woods says it appears to have started in the garage. An investigation is ongoing.