Woman dies in early morning apartment fire

A woman in her 70s died in an apartment fire in southeast Wichita, authorities said.

The fire was reported at 3:41 a.m. Wednesday at the Buttonwood Tree apartments, 9211 E. Harry, a Sedgwick County emergency dispatcher said.

A security guard detected smoke at the complex west of Webb Road and called 911, Wichita Battalion Chief Stuart Bevis said. It took arriving crews awhile to spot smoke coming from a broken second-story window, he said.

They made their way into the apartment and put out the fire, which was essentially contained to the bedroom, Bevis said. They found the woman in the bedroom with “significant burns,” he said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

No other injuries were reported, and the Red Cross was not alerted to provide assistance to displaced residents.

“Sheetrock did what it was supposed to – it kept the fire and most of the smoke in the apartment of origin,” Bevis said.

An arson-detecting dog was on the scene with investigators, though Bevis said that’s standard procedure. The damage estimate has been revised to about $15,000, Bevis said.

Investigators are awaiting autopsy results to confirm the woman’s identity and how she died. Two cats also perished in the fire, Bevis said.

This is the second fire death in Wichita this year, Bevis said. A 70-year-old man died in a February fire that occurred as he was smoking while on oxygen in his apartment in the Shadyway Plaza Tower, 1421 N. Spruce.

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 6:38 AM with the headline "Woman dies in early morning apartment fire."