Liberal Firefighters Save Resident In Structure Fire

At 3:54 am Friday emergency responders were paged to a residential fire at 715 S. Pennsylvania Ave. An adult male occupant inside the residence reported the fire and that he was unable to escape on his own due to heat and heavy smoke conditions.

Police officers arrived on scene within two minutes of dispatch and the first fire unit in four minutes at 3:58 am. First arriving units reported heavy smoke from the entire residence and immediate attempts to locate and rescue the victim were initiated. Initial attempts to enter and locate the victim were hampered by high heat and energized electrical equipment. Operators in the Communications Center were able to maintain contact with the victim throughout the ordeal via cell phone. He was able to communicate that he was in a closet in a rear bedroom and that the window was blocked by an air conditioning unit. The room was quickly located and the AC unit removed from the outside. The victim was removed from the residence and placed in the care of Seward County EMS at 4:03 am. He was treated at the scene and subsequently transported to SWMC for further observation and treatment.

Efforts were then turned to extinguishing the fire, which was declared under control at 4:08 am. Investigators believe that the fire originated in an electrical outlet powering an air conditioning unit and spread to a couch in the living room of the residence. The fire was contained to the living room, but the entire residence suffered significant heat and smoke damage. A smoke detector was present but inoperable at the time of the fire.

The Liberal Fire Department responded with two engines and 17 personnel. Also responding to the fire were the Liberal Police Department and Seward County EMS.

All units were clear of the scene at 5:49 am and back in service a 6:05 am.