Wichita woman dies after house fire where she was trapped in smoke-filled home

A Wichita woman died Monday afternoon in a Delano neighborhood house fire where her husband came home to find smoke too thick for a rescue, officials said.

Firefighters were called at 2:49 p.m. to a house fire in the 200 block of North Elizabeth, near Second and Seneca, a Sedgwick County dispatch supervisor said. The fire was mostly put out within about 20 minutes of the 911 call, and one patient was initially reported to be in very critical condition.

Emergency radio traffic had indicated the patient was trapped in the home when 911 was called.

Fire Marshal Stuart Bevis of the Wichita Fire Department said a woman in her 70s was rescued by firefighters but died at the scene.

The woman’s husband came home and found the house on fire, went inside and called 911.

“The husband was able to make it all the way through the house, but he could not make it up the stairs,” Bevis said. “And without breathing apparatus, we (firefighters) wouldn’t have made it up the stairs either.”

The woman was trapped on the second floor surrounded by heavy smoke. Firefighters got the woman out of the house, and paramedics performed first aid before she was pronounced dead. Bevis did not describe the nature of her injuries and said it was too early to determine a cause of death.

“We did have reports that smoke alarms were going off, but ... the female had mobility issues and was unable to self-evacuate,” Bevis said.

No cause has been determined as the fire is under investigation. Bevis said oxygen tanks may have contributed to the flames, with dangerous smoke from burning wood, plastic and synthetic clothing material. Damage estimates are $20,000 to the structure and $10,000 to belongings.

This story was originally published December 2, 2019 at 3:17 PM.