FINNEY COUNTY —The cause of a deadly fire in southwest Kansas has been determined as accidental, according to the Kansas Fire Marshal's office in a statement from Erin Stillwagon with the Garden City Fire Department. Officials released no additional specifics.
Just after 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, fire crews were dispatched to the report house fire with possible trapped individuals at 613 N. 9th Street, Garden City, according to a media release.
First arriving crews found a multi-story residence with heavy fire and visible smoke. Firefighters made contact with three victims in the front yard who alerted them of additional victims inside.
Personnel entered the house to begin fire attack and search and rescue, and were met with heavy fire and intense heat. During the search, personnel located two additional victims. After retrieving them from the home, fire personnel were joined by EMS to begin life-saving measures.
The victims were loaded into ambulances and care was transferred to EMS. Just before 3a.m., the City of Holcomb Fire Department was requested to provide mutual aid. Personnel reentered the residence to complete the primary search and fire attack.
Additional fire was located in the attic and extinguished. The fire was called under control at 3:22 a.m. and turned over to Garden City Fire Investigators.
As a result of the fire, two victims died, three victims were treated for smoke inhalation, and one firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation.
The Garden City Police Department is also conducting an investigation which is standard procedure for victims of a structure fire. Authorities have not released additional details or the names victims