Wichita Meals on Wheels kitchen fire to affect about 900 seniors

Meals on Wheels recipients will see a slight change in deliveries over the coming week after a fire Saturday morning damaged the kitchen where food is prepared.

Meals will not be delivered Sunday or Monday, and program participants are asked to eat shelf-stable meals already in their homes until more frozen meals arrive early this week, said Laurel Alkire, executive director of Senior Services of Wichita.

Frozen meals will be delivered Tuesday and Wednesday, Alkire said. Thursday and Friday, recipients will eat frozen holiday dishes delivered prior to the fire, which ignited in a breaker box in the Meals on Wheels kitchen at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

The kitchen is housed in the south Senior Services of Wichita building, 200 S. Walnut.

About 900 seniors will be affected.

“We will not leave our people hanging,” Alkire said early Saturday evening.

By then, refrigerated food trucks from vendors had already been filled with any salvageable food, she said, and Meals on Wheels was already searching for another space for meal preparation. Anyone with the capacity that is willing to help is asked to call 316-263-3703.

Meals on Wheels clients and volunteers also are asked to call the number if they need assistance, because phones are out at the south Senior Services building.

“We won’t leave our people without food,” Alkire said.

Wichita fire investigations Lt. Joe Evans said fire crews were called to 200 S. Walnut at 10:30 a.m. to check smoke outside of a building but immediately realized fire had broken out inside the kitchen.

Firefighters called for additional units as a precaution, but the blaze was quickly extinguished, he said. Most of the fire damage was contained to a storage room, he said; the building also sustained some smoke and water damage.

The kitchen was empty when the fire started, Alkire said. A staff member working in a nearby building heard an alarm and saw smoke billowing from the kitchen and called 911.

Damage is estimated at $50,000 to the building and at least $5,000 to contents, Evans said.

Repairs could take 30 days.

This story was originally published November 22, 2014 at 8:44 PM with the headline "Wichita Meals on Wheels kitchen fire to affect about 900 seniors."