FORT SMITH -- A Fort Smith woman was in critical condition Wednesday after firefighters rescued her from a burning home, city officials said.
Tery Graves, battalion chief for the Fort Smith Fire Department, said the woman was given CPR and taken to a local hospital. She was in critical condition on a ventilator as of 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to Graves.
Fire Marshal Ethan Millard said the fire took place at 2116 N. I St. Aric Mitchell, Police Department spokesman, said first responders were called to the area at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Millard said the homeowner told fire crews when they arrived that his wife was inside the burning house. One crew kept the fire back while another went through a bedroom window to search for the woman. Crews extinguished the fire.
Millard said the residence is a total loss.
Fire Department officials determined the fire started in the living room and was accidental, Millard said. The room, which was "heavily cluttered," had a refrigerator in a corner with an extension cord that ran to an opposite wall. Investigators believe the cord was worn and had mechanical damage due to being stepped on multiple times, which led to something like clothes or a box being ignited and causing a fire that extended through a majority of the house, he said.
Millard said the homeowner also suffered an injured hand and smoke inhalation during the fire. Graves said there were a total of five people in the house at the time of the fire. The other three escaped without reported injuries.
Firefighters and EMS crews respond on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, to a house fire at 2116 N I Street in Fort Smith. First responders and police were called to the address around 8 a.m. Tery Graves, Battalion Chief of the Fort Smith Fire Department, estimated there were six people inside, including a woman who was trapped and, after an all-hands rescue and administration of CPR, eventually taken to the hospital in an ambulance. As of 10 a.m., Graves said the woman was in critical condition. Visit nwaonline.com/211222Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Firefighters and EMS crews respond on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, to a house fire at 2116 N I Street in Fort Smith. First responders and police were called to the address around 8 a.m. Tery Graves, Battalion Chief of the Fort Smith Fire Department, estimated there were six people inside, including a woman who was trapped and, after an all-hands rescue and administration of CPR, eventually taken to the hospital in an ambulance. As of 10 a.m., Graves said the woman was in critical condition. Visit nwaonline.com/211222Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Firefighters and EMS crews respond on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021, to a house fire at 2116 N I Street in Fort Smith. First responders and police were called to the address around 8 a.m. Tery Graves, Battalion Chief of the Fort Smith Fire Department, estimated there were six people inside, including a woman who was trapped and, after an all-hands rescue and administration of CPR, eventually taken to the hospital in an ambulance. As of 10 a.m., Graves said the woman was in critical condition. Visit nwaonline.com/211222Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)