Kansas City woman who was critically injured in house fire has died

A 53-year-old woman who was critically injured in a residential fire June 23 in the 4400 block of Elmwood Avenue has died.

Gwendolyn Williams was inside the residence when the fire started. Her roommate, Lamar Wallace, helped Williams out of the burning house. Both were taken to hospitals.

Authorities are investigating the incident as an arson.

Thick flames and heavy smoke confronted fire crews as they arrived about 2 a.m. A neighbor had reported seeing what appeared to be a large fireball over the roof before firefighters arrived.

Fire investigators said the blaze started in a rear bedroom and quickly spread.

Glenn E. Rice, grice@kcstar.com

This story was originally published June 30, 2015 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Kansas City woman who was critically injured in house fire has died."