South KC apartment fire injures seven, one critically

A fire inside a south Kansas City apartment building injured five members of a family, one of them critically, Thursday morning.

Two other persons sustained minor injuries as the building at 5703 E. 96th Place was being evacuated.

The fire severely burned one woman over much of her body, including her hands and face, said Battalion Chief James Garrett. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

When firefighters arrived shortly after 8:15 a.m., she already was outside with her husband and three children. All sustained injuries, though the mother’s were the worst.

Their neighbor, Aisha Hinds, 22, awoke about 8 a.m. to the sounds of a smoke alarm. When she looked outside, she saw thick black smoke coming from the building. She dressed and returned to her third-floor balcony, saw another neighbor and told her to call 911.

Hinds was stuck on the balcony about 15 minutes, until firefighters rescued her with a ladder, she said.

“I was terrified,” she said about two hours later. “I was shaking. In fact, I’m still shaking.”

She was treated for breathing issues. Another person received treatment after falling during the evacuation, Garrett said.

The fire extensively damaged the third-floor apartment occupied by the family of five.

Fire officials had not determined where the fire started, but they called Kansas City police bomb and arson investigators to assist in determining what happened, Garrett said.

This story was originally published June 19, 2014 at 9:57 AM with the headline "South KC apartment fire injures seven, one critically."