Firefighters

This marks the 58 th year that firefighters throughout the country and Kansas have joined the Muscular Dystrophy Association in the fight against neuromuscular disease. In 2011 the Wichita Professional Fire Fighters collected more than $28,000 for MDA.  Members of the Wichita Fire Department will be filling the boot a little earlier this year.  The Department and Local #135 will be collecting donations over the next three Saturdays - May 19th, May 26th and June 1st at various locations across the city.

Firefighters are battling a house fire located at Kellogg and 151 st Street.  Smoke and flames are visible. The home is abandoned. Eyewitness News will update this story as it becomes available onKWCH.com and on the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news.

Firefighters responded to a house fire Thursday night in the 5300 block of E. Crestview Court in Wichita. The fire was out in less than an hour. No one was hurt. A cause of the fire has not been determined.

The American Red Cross says the firefighters have won the 16th Annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive. The friendly competition pits area firefighters against area law enforcement to see who can donate the most blood.

Firefighters are called to a home in the 500 block of North Young street Monday afternoon. Neighbors saw smoke coming out of the single-occupancy home around 3 o'clock. When firefighters arrived they saw a large volume of smoke coming from the front of the house. Crews were able to put the fire out quickly. Damage was contained to one room of the house. No one was home at the time of the blaze but a dog did die in the fire.

Firefighters respond to a house fire in Valley Center Saturday morning. It broke out around 8am in the 39-hundred block of West 89th St. North. When crews arrived they found fire coming out of the roof. The fire was in the attic space. Two people were home at the time of the fire, they were able to get out okay. A law enforcement officer at the scene did suffer from smoke inhalation. Damage is estimated at around $50,000. Authorities say the majority of the damage was from water damage.

The windy conditions and dry grass are making it a dangerous day when it comes to grass fires. Fire crews responded to one in the 5000 block of N. 131st street Saturday afternoon. The owner of the home was burning in a barrel when the barrel got away and started a grass fire. The fire spread to the siding of a house and a shed. Firefighters were able to get it under control quickly. There was no significant damage. Firefighters want to warn people to use extreme caution when burning.

Firefighters continue to battle a fire at Joyland.  The fire started around six o'clock Friday evening. There were several reports about heavy black smoke and flames. When fire crews got to the shuttered amusement park, they found a two story building, fully engulfed. Firefighters had a tough time trying to put the fire out. "We don't have any hydrants near so we had to pull hoses and water supply lays," said Tammy Snow, deputy fire chief. Neighbors from the area, gathered around, to watch the fire burn.

Most volunteer firefighters such as Jerry McMillian say they do it to help people. "It takes it out of you," McMillian says.  "It's a physcial challenge.  It's a mental challenge. " But McMillian says there's also the excitement of fighting rapidly moving, potentially deadly fires.  Reno County Deputy Steve Lutz says that may be what motivated 20-year-old Cody Knox who investigators say set fires, only to turn around and help put them out. "Sometimes you get a couple of them that are in it for the wrong reasons, and they need a little more excitement," Lutz says.  "I don't know if that's his reasoning or not, but that is something that has happened in the past.

Firefighters are on the scene of a house fire in NW Wichita.  Crews were called to the 1400 block of Fieldcrest, which is near 13th & Maize Road. When fire crews arrived, they found heavy smoke and fire coming from the home. They went to work - fighting the fire inside the house. One firefighter fell through the burning floor, but got caught on a floor joist and didn't fall all the way through to the basement. That firefighter was checked out at the scene.  He was not hurt and went back to work fighting the fire.

Spark plugs from Chicago, tires from Tennessee, real gold leaf lettering all set one of Derby Fire Department's trucks apart from all the others. Of course, it's a lot older, too. Originally built in 1916, Hose No. 1 just underwent it's second restoration since coming to the Derby Volunteer Fire Department in 1966. Click to See Pictures of the Restored Truck Chuck Fields, a former volunteer firefighter who's made Hose No. 1 his personal project, calls driving the old truck a lot of fun. "You get a tired leg because the clutch is hard to push and the steering is arm strong steering.

Fire officials in Nickerson say the cause of a fire that killed a Nickerson man and his daughter over the weekend is undetermined. Someone reported seeing a home on fire in the 200 block of north Nickerson around 4:30 a.m. Saturday. Crews arrived at the scene to find the house fully involved. Click here for pictures of the fire Firefighters recovered two bodies hours later. They have been identified as George Danser and his daughter, Nikolle. Kenneth Burgess, Nickerson Fire Chief, said the house is a total loss.

Many families took advantage of the unseasonably warm temperatures Friday by spending time outdoors. Some went to the zoo, others played in backyards, and many enjoyed the day at the park. But in Winfield, familes stood in disbelief as a fire destroyed a playground for the second time in about five years. "We were gonna come play and then we noticed it," Spencer Lowe, 5, said. Firefighters were called to the Island Park Thursday night after witnesses reported seeing flames in the playground.

Update: Wichita fire investigators say an electrical malfunction is to blame for an overnight house fire on N. Clayton.  Officials say that fire caused $25,000 damage to the building and another $10,000 damage to contents.  No one was hurt. ----- An overnight fire damages a home in west Wichita.  Firefighters were called to the home in the 400 block of N. Clayton at around 11:00 Wednesday.  They were greeted by smoke and flames coming from the front of the home. The family inside made it out safely, but there's no word yet on what caused the fire.

A car crash leads to a large gas leak in Hays Tuesday evening. Shortly before 10:30, emergency crews were called to the 1600 block of E. 22nd St. They found a vehicle that had crashed into a large commercial gas meter. The meter serve Roosevelt elementary School. No one in the car was hurt, and they were able to get out of the car before crews arrived. Due to where the car crashed, firefighters could not control the gas leak using their standard procedures. Investigators say, since it was leaking in a large, open area, there was minimal threat to surrounding buildings.

A boy playing with fire sparked a blaze that displaced a Salina family. Firefighters were called to the home in the 600 block of Whittinghill Ave. around 4 p.m. Tuesday. They found a small fire in the living room, and quickly put out the flames. Two people were inside the home at the time and managed to escape. No one was hurt. Damage is extensive with broken windows, smoke and water damage. The American Red Cross has been called to help the family find temporary living arrangements.