One person killed following fire at KCK halfway house
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A man is dead following a fire at a halfway house in Kansas City, Kansas.
Kansas City, Kansas fire investigators said heavy fire came from the back of the house in the kitchen area, that’s where firefighters found a man dead.
He’s not been identified at this time.
Neighbors woke up concerned, seeing flames outside their windows.
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“I came out that door right there and the flames were right here, and I was like, holy moly, we should probably get out of here,” neighbor Amy Randolph said. “It was really close you could feel the heat.”
Randolph lives next door to the home that went up in flames Sunday night, just after 11p.m.
She woke up to someone knocking on her door and windows. Her dog started barking. Then, she walked outside to see flames shooting out of her neighbors home.
“We were scared,” Randolph said, “but also just trying to make sure to get the dogs and people out.”
Assistant Fire Chief Scott Schaunaman said this was a halfway house and three people lived in the home.
One man was found dead inside on the first floor in the kitchen area, according to Schaunaman. It’s believed he was the only person inside.
Randolph shared video of firefighters pulling a hire hose through her back yard.
Schaunaman said crews took an aggressive approach to tackle the fire. They pulled lines through the front door.
He said once inside, firefighters found that the stairway to the second floor was burned out.
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“Then we had to go to plan B, and so truck 14 took a ladder and used that to get access to the second floor,” Schaunaman said. “So, we took an additional line to the second floor
to help put the fire out on the second floor because the fire had extended there too.”
Schaunaman said crews got the fire out in about 20 minutes.
While the cause is still under investigation, Schaunaman reminds people to have working smoke detectors and said don’t leave your oven, stove or candles unattended.
Crews were at the home Monday working to determine the cause of the fire.
