Fire Injures Four Wichita, Kansas Firefighters

Dec. 9, 2004
Four firefighters were injured in an early morning blaze Thursday at a home in north Wichita.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Four firefighters were injured in an early morning blaze Thursday at a home in north Wichita.

Lt. Brad Crisp, of the Wichita Fire Department, said three firefighters were treated and released and another was admitted to a hospital.

No further information was immediately released on the extent of their injuries or how they occurred.

The fire, which the occupants called in at 12:45 a.m., started in a detached garage that had been converted into a recreation room. Crisp said the occupants had recently installed a woodburning stove and used inappropriate pipe for the flue work.

The stove's heat caused to the pipe to ignite the wooden wall, he said. The fire was quickly extinguished once firefighters arrived.

``We get a few of them every year - and the reason for this fire was that it was installed improperly,'' Crisp said. ``Anytime you have a penetration (through a wall) you need double-walled, insulated pipe. The occupants had done the installation themselves and didn't realize they used the wrong kind of pipe.''

Fire investigators ruled the fire unintentional, saying it caused about $20,000 damage.

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