2 people die in Kansas City fire; Mayday called when firefighter falls through floor

Two people died and a firefighter was injured when a fire swept through a home in Kansas City’s Northland early Friday, a fire department spokesman said.

A neighbor called 911 shortly after 5:30 a.m. saying smoke was coming from a house on Northeast 45th Street near North Agness Avenue in Kansas City, North, said Fire Inspector Jason Spreitzer, a spokesman for the Kansas City Fire Department.

Arriving firefighters reported that the home was engulfed in heavy smoke and that fire was coming from the house, Spreitzer said.

As firefighters entered the house, one of them fell through the floor. A mayday was immediately called and other firefighters were able to rescue the firefighter from the basement using a ladder, Spreitzer said.

The firefighter sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

Fire crews resumed the search of the home and found two adults who had died in the fire, Spreitzer said.

Because of the double fatality, fire officials called Kansas City police, along with its bomb and arson unit, to the home to take over the death investigation. Fire investigators with the fire department will assist in the investigation, he said.