Officials confirmed that a Wichita firefighter died after responding to a house fire Thursday afternoon.
Firefighters from Wichita, Derby, McConnell and Sedgwick County fire departments responded to the house fire in the 9800 S. Laura at 2:55 p.m., according to KSN.com. A caller reported flames coming from the home.
The fire was placed under control shortly after firefighters arrived in the 100-degree weather.
The firefighter—the only one injured at the incident—was unconscious and not breathing, county dispatchers told the television station.
The firefighter, which Fire Chief Tammy Snow did not identify during a press conference Thursday evening, was rushed to the hospital where they were pronounced dead at 3:22 p.m.
“We will never be the same after today,” President Ted Bush of the Wichita firefighters’ union told The Wichita Eagle. “We won’t, but the job remains the same. Even in the midst of this great tragedy and pain, there are firefighters out there right now doing their jobs.”
Investigators from the Kansas State Fire Marshal's Office, Sedgwick County and the Bureau of Alcohol, Fire and Tobacco were called to the scene.
A neighbor told KSN the the homeowner was not home there then fire was reported.
