Fire Fighters

Wichita fire fighters pull several kittens out of a burning house in the 1600 block of south Seneca.  The fire started Friday afternoon. Click here for pictures from fire When fire fighters arrived, the house was engulfed in flames.  They quickly put the fire out and learned the house was vacant.  It was getting prepped to be torn down. Fire investigators say the fire started in the basement, but they're not sure why.  They say construction workers had been inside the house recently, prepping it for demolition.  Since the house was slated to be torn down, there's no estimated loss.  Fire fighters were just happy to rescue the kittens and turn them over to animal control.

Three people called 911 the night Vashti Seacat died in a house fire in Kingman.  Her husband is charged with setting the fire and killing her.  Eyewitness News filed an open records request for the 911 calls May 9th.  The Attorney General's Office provided the information August 3rd and we received it August 5th. The first call came in at 3:54 on the morning of April 30th. The call lasted two minutes and 15 seconds. The Attorney General's office won't provide details of the call saying it's part of the criminal investigation.

Firefighters battled both the heat and flames near Clearwater Thursday afternoon. Crews arriving found flames shooting from the house. "We ended up with about three more crews here than what we would have normally had because of the heat. We went ahead and started early because when we saw the smoke we knew we were going to have a big problem," explains Doug Williams, Sedgwick County Division Chief. With the 105 degree temperatures, fire fighters had to take frequent breaks to rehydrate and cool off. "Fire fighters try to watch the other ones and sometimes you have to get onto them and say, 'hey, you look like you're more exhausted than what you are telling me, let's go sit down, I'll go with you,'" said Lt. Donald Shauf, Clearwater Fire Department.

Fire fighters battled a house fire near Augusta Wednesday.  It caused quite a bit of damage of the back of the home. The fire started in the 12000 block of SW Thunder Road, about three miles south west of Augusta.  Sheriff's deputies had to closer roads for a short amount of time. Three different fire departments responded to put out the flames. The cause is still under investigation.

Fire heavily damaged a house in west Wichita Friday night.  The fire happened in the 10000 block of west Bartlett, which is near 13th and Maize. Fire fighters worked to put out the flames. People called 911 to report the house was engulfed.  It appears most of the damage was to the garage. There's no word on the cause or how much damage it caused. No one was inside when the fire started.

A fire in South Wichita kept crews busy early Saturday morning and investigators suspect arson. It happened at a trailer park in the 4400 block of S. Meridian. Fire crews say the blaze started in a shed, and burned two neighboring homes. No one was injured, however one of the homes is no longer liveable. Fire fighters had been called to this same location for another fire earlier, which is why arson is suspected.

Wichita fire investigators say embers from a commercial smoker are to blame for a business fire Wednesday night at Kellogg and Hoover. They say the fire was in an enclosed patio area.  The door of the smoker was left open on the combustion chamber. That allowed embers to fly out and catch nearby items on fire.  The patio was enclosed by a wooden fence. Fire fighters were able to keep the flames largely out of the building and bar area connected to the patio. The fire caused about $40,000 in damages.  No one was hurt.

Several residents were trapped inside the building. The flames and thick smoke prevented them from from leaving. Fire fighters had to use ladders to reach people at their windows. "I tried to run down the stairs but when I opened the door the flames hit my face so I went to the window where they were able to get me down," said 15-year old Anthony Collins. Nobody was hurt, now residents rummage through what's left of their belongings to try to salvage what's left. In all about 20 people were left homeless.

It started out as a game, but minutes later a Conway Springs boy was holding on for dear life.  The seven-year-old was slipping off of his parents roof while fire fighters rushed to get a ladder.  In the end the ladder wasn't needed and now the police chief is called a hero. People usually know when something big happens in Conway Springs.  "News in a town like this usually spreads pretty fast," said resident Tracy Dalbom.  But the latest news travelled about as slow as the traffic on Main Street.

One person is in critical condition after Wichita firefighters pull her from a burning house. Sunday, contractors board up windows that flames blew out. And what the fire destroyed on the inside, now sits on the front lawn. Sunday morning, neighbors in the 9500 block of Britton called 911 after seeing smoke. By the time firefighters arrived, homeowner Gary Kral was outside throwing rocks at an upstairs window. His wife was still inside. The victim's husband tells us he had gone out for a short bike ride and his wife was still sleeping, he returned to find the front of his house in flames.

Fire crews call a second alarm on a fire at the Holiday Inn at Kellogg & Rock Road.  Firefighters were called to the scene at around 11:30 Wednesday morning when an air-conditioning and heating unit in a vacant room on the fourth floor caught fire. Wichita Fire Marshal Brad Crisp says the initial crews found smoke and flames coming from a fourth-floor room.  When they got to the area, they found significant fire in that room.  Crisp says the sprinkler system kept the fire in check and fire crews were able to finish putting out the fire.

Fire heavily damaged a house in west Wichita Friday night.  The fire happened in the 10000 block of west Bartlett, which is near 13th and Maize. Fire fighters worked to put out the flames. People called 911 to report the house was engulfed.  It appears most of the damage was to the garage. There's no word on the cause or how much damage it caused. No one was inside when the fire started.

The fire at the Westar Power Plant in Colwich is out.  Fire fighters extinguished the flames around 7:30 Wednesday morning. The fire at 151st St. W. and 61st St. N. started just before two o'clock in the morning. Sedgwick County Fire Division Chief Dan Wegner said a combination of foam and chemicals smothered the flames and cooled down a transformer.   Westar Energy Spokesman Nick Bundy says the fire started after a transformer failed.  It burned for several hours because of mineral oil that cools the transformer.

Wichita fire investigators say embers from a commercial smoker are to blame for a business fire Wednesday night at Kellogg and Hoover. They say the fire was in an enclosed patio area.  The door of the smoker was left open on the combustion chamber. That allowed embers to fly out and catch nearby items on fire.  The patio was enclosed by a wooden fence. Fire fighters were able to keep the flames largely out of the building and bar area connected to the patio. The fire caused about $40,000 in damages.  No one was hurt.

Fire fighters battled a house fire near Augusta Wednesday.  It caused quite a bit of damage of the back of the home. The fire started in the 12000 block of SW Thunder Road, about three miles south west of Augusta.  Sheriff's deputies had to closer roads for a short amount of time. Three different fire departments responded to put out the flames. The cause is still under investigation.

It's been two years since an explosion and fire injured six volunteer firefighters in Kirwin, Kansas, now they and the city of are taking the company responsible to court claiming negligence. "The case is worth millions of dollars, because at least the one fire fighter will never work again," said Wichita Attorney Don Snook. Kirwin Fire Fighter Rex Lowe showed us his injuries just days after getting out of the hospital in 2010. The volunteer fire fighter was trying to put out a truck fire in Kirwin when chemicals onboard the truck exploded.

An overheated car is being blamed on sparking a major grass fire in Decatur County. The fire started early Tuesday afternoon six miles west of Oberlin.  The Operations Manager of High Plains Radio Andrew Stossmeister says the overheated car was sitting on the side of the road when it sparked a fire. The fire moved northeast more than ten miles, taking out several out buildings seven wheat fields. He says several buildings were evacuated because of the flames, including his radio station.  He says for about an hour they were kept out. Stossmeister says the radio station was lucky, because the flames didn't jump the highway.  But he says the other side of the highway sustained more damage.

Wichita fire fighters pull several kittens out of a burning house in the 1600 block of south Seneca.  The fire started Friday afternoon. Click here for pictures from fire When fire fighters arrived, the house was engulfed in flames.  They quickly put the fire out and learned the house was vacant.  It was getting prepped to be torn down. Fire investigators say the fire started in the basement, but they're not sure why.  They say construction workers had been inside the house recently, prepping it for demolition.  Since the house was slated to be torn down, there's no estimated loss.  Fire fighters were just happy to rescue the kittens and turn them over to animal control.

A fire in South Wichita kept crews busy early Saturday morning and investigators suspect arson. It happened at a trailer park in the 4400 block of S. Meridian. Fire crews say the blaze started in a shed, and burned two neighboring homes. No one was injured, however one of the homes is no longer liveable. Fire fighters had been called to this same location for another fire earlier, which is why arson is suspected.

Three people called 911 the night Vashti Seacat died in a house fire in Kingman.  Her husband is charged with setting the fire and killing her.  Eyewitness News filed an open records request for the 911 calls May 9th.  The Attorney General's Office provided the information August 3rd and we received it August 5th. The first call came in at 3:54 on the morning of April 30th. The call lasted two minutes and 15 seconds. The Attorney General's office won't provide details of the call saying it's part of the criminal investigation.