Updated: City identifies firefighter who died from injuries in south Wichita house fire
Find a full updated story here: Wichita firefighter Ty Voth lived and died as a hero, WFD chief says
Updated, 9:30 a.m. Aug. 2:
A Wichita firefighter who died while responding to a house fire Thursday has been identified as 27-year-old Ty Voth, a five year veteran of the department.
Original story: A Wichita firefighter has died after responding to a house fire in south Wichita in 100-degree heat Thursday.
“One of Wichita’s bravest was injured in the line of duty,” Wichita Fire Department Chief Tammy Snow said at a news conference Thursday evening at City Hall. “He later succumbed to his injures.”
The firefighter’s identity was not released at the news conference. No details about what happened were released, and Snow did not take any questions, saying the community would be updated as information becomes available.
First responders were sent at 2:55 p.m. to a house fire in the 8900 block of South Laura Street. The firefighter was rushed to a hospital after becoming unresponsive and died at 3:22 p.m.
“We will never be the same after today,” Wichita firefighters’ union president Ted Bush said. “We won’t, but the job remains the same. Even in the midst of this great tragedy and pain, there are firefighters out there right now doing their jobs.”
It’s the first firefighting-related death among the ranks of the Wichita Fire Department since 2010 when Urban Eck, 51, died in the hospital weeks after being treated for heart-related symptoms at the scene of a fire at the Cedar Lake Apartment clubhouse near Rock and Pawnee.
Contributing: Chance Swaim of The Wichita Eagle
This story was originally published August 1, 2024 at 6:57 PM.