Woman, 65, injured in Wichita apartment fire

A 65-year-old woman is in critical condition after receiving “respiratory burns” in a west Wichita apartment fire Saturday evening, a Sedgwick County emergency dispatcher said.

The fire was reported in the 6700 block of West Par Lane around 7 p.m. Saturday.

Wichita Fire Battalion Chief Brad Boyd said that when crews arrived, they found the woman standing outside the structure.

When crews entered the building, they located a fire in a back bedroom and were “able to extinguish it pretty quick,” Boyd said.

“Our guys were fortunate enough to get the fire out pretty quick,” he said. “Then we began the process to get them out of there and get them cooled down.”

The woman was transported to Via Christi Hospital St. Francis with smoke inhalation injuries and burns to the face, Boyd said.

Boyd said the damage to the apartment was minimal, and residents in the complex will be able to return to their apartments shortly.

“However, the apartment did fill up with a lot of smoke, so there’s going to be some smoke damage,” he said.

Authorities have not released the woman’s name.

This story was originally published June 20, 2015 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Woman, 65, injured in Wichita apartment fire."