Young girl doing better after being injured in house fire in southwest Wichita

UPDATE: On Monday, the hospital said the girl is doing better and is listed in fair condition. KSN News does not have an update yet on the cause of the fire.

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Emergency crews were on the scene of a house fire in southwest Wichita Friday evening that sent a young girl to the hospital.

According to Sedgwick County Dispatch, they received a call for a house fire at 5:25 p.m. in the 800 block of W. Mount Vernon Rd.

When crews arrived, they found smoke coming from the rear windows of the house. They also found a 10-year-old girl walking down the sidewalk toward them.

According to Acting Battalion Chief Chad Dunham with the Wichita Fire Department, the girl had “pretty severe burns on her legs and part of her lower body.” Dispatch reports that she was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

Once firefighters got inside, they found heavy fire in the back of the house. Crews were then able to extinguish the fire and perform search and rescue.

Two dogs were found on the scene, but no one else was inside the home.

“There was a couple pets. They both actually survived,” said Dunham. “One of them came out, and they took it over to the neighbor’s house, a little puppy. And then the other one, we actually have our little Pet Saver, you know, our oxy[gen] mask for the dogs, and they were able to apply that to the dog, and that brought him around, and he’s up and running around as well.”

Dunham states that the fire caused extensive damage throughout the house.

“Since there was an injury, we try not to get through there and do too much damage or mess up a scene too much until they can get in there and take their pictures and do what they do, but there was extensive fire damage throughout the house,” said Dunham.

The fire is still under investigation.