Wichita firefighters conducting an interior attack on a apartment fire Friday were left trapped inside the structure when an exterior staircase collapsed.
The Wichita Fire Department responded to the apartment fire in the 8100 block of E. Central near Rock Rd just before 4 a.m. Friday. Smoke and flames were visible upon arrival.
Early on in the fight, the exterior stairs that were the only means of egress, collapsed. That forced interior crews to transmit a Mayday and exterior crews scrambled to raise ladders to the building’s windows. Firefighters were able to exit the fire building via ladder, Battalion Chief Jose Ocadiz told KAKE.
Two individuals jumped from the third floor to escape the fire, and firefighters were able to bring two others to safety. In all, three victims were transported to the hospital with serious to critical injuries, KAKE reported. One victim, a 22-year-old woman who was found not breathing, could not be resuscitated and died.
