A juvenile playing with fire caused the west Wichita house fire that killed a 58-year-old woman and injured four others Oct. 16, according to the Wichita Fire Department.
Battalion Chief Jose Ocadiz said Wednesday, Oct. 21, that the juvenile lived at the home, the Wichita Eagle reported. The department has not released the juvenile’s name.
The fire was reported around 7:30 a.m. Oct. 16 at 1331 N. Westlink Ave., near 13th and Maize, according to the department. Three children and a woman escaped the home before firefighters arrived. A second woman was found inside a bedroom.
All five occupants were taken to the burn unit at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis.
Wichita Fire Chief Michael Mire said during the initial response that the woman found inside was not breathing when crews reached her. A 7-year-old and a 28-year-old woman were in critical condition after the fire, KWCH reported. A 5-year-old and a 3-year-old had minor injuries.
A neighbor, who asked not to be named, told the Eagle she heard a series of loud booms around 7 a.m. the morning of Oct. 16.
"I heard boom, boom, boom, really loud," she said. "I thought at first that something had fallen in my basement."
The neighbor said a family had just moved into the rental home the week before the fire. A man who identified himself as the property owner told the Eagle he had recently rented the house out but declined to give his name.
The neighbor also said she saw responders giving a woman CPR on the ground outside the home.
Wichita Battalion Chief Jose Ocadiz said on Oct. 16 that the cause was still under investigation. The department said the juvenile lived in the home in its Oct. 21 update.
