HUTCHINSON, Kan. — One person was found deceased in a fire early Tuesday morning at 4th and Bonebrake in Hutchinson.
Hutchinson Fire Department Division Chief of Operations Jeremy Unruh reported that the fire department was alerted to a commercial structure fire at 4th and Bonebrake shortly after 8 a.m. on Tuesday, May 20. At that time, the Hutchinson Police Department had already arrived and reported visible smoke.
Fire units discovered that there was one storage facility out of eight that was filled with smoke. Crews were forced to cut several locks and doors of the storage unit to get through and an aggressive attack was initiated due to four units being actively involved in the fire.
While putting out the flames, crews discovered one person in a unit who was unfortunately deceased. The individual looked to be residing in the unit.
An investigation is currently being done by the HFD Fire Marshal to find out what caused the fire. The Reno County Coroner’s Medical Investigator is also examining the cause of death and working on identifying the deceased. The family of the deceased will be notified following positive identification.
No firefighters were reported injured. The building sustained moderate damage to four of its units with 75% of the remaining units suffering smoke damage. The property owner has been notified and will inform the tenants of the affected storage unit as well.
Others who responded included: Evergy, Hutchinson Police Department, Reno County EMS, Reno County Coroner’s Office, Hutchinson-Reno County Emergency Communications, and Hutchinson Public works.
