Careless smoking ‘strongly suspected’ in fire that killed two men in Kansas City
Two men died and another escaped as a fast-moving fire engulfed their home in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast early Friday, a fire officials said.
Firefighters responded to the blaze about 3 a.m. in the 400 block of Lawndale Avenue, said Fire Inspector Jason Spreitzer, a spokesman for the Kansas City Fire Department.
Arriving firefighters reported that flames were coming out the home’s windows, he said.
Firefighters entered the home and during their first search of the home, they found one of the victims. They found the second victim while conducting a secondary search, Spreitzer said.
Another man had escaped the blaze by crawling out a second-story window and down a tree to safety, he said. That man was uninjured.
The fire was the heaviest in the front of the house, Spreitzer said.
The official cause of the fire will be undetermined, but fire investigators strongly suspect careless smoking, said Assistant Chief Jimmy Walker, who leads the department of emergency services.
“Looks like this could easily have been prevented,” Walker said.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 9:58 AM.
