Feb 26, 2021

1 seriously injured in rural Kansas fire

Posted Feb 26, 2021 9:30 PM

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Ellis County firefighters responded to 13 fire calls this week, including a house fire near Victoria that resulted in a resident receiving serious injuries.

Ellis County Fire Chief and Director of Emergency Management Darin Myers said he could not release the name of the person who was injured near Victoria on Friday, Feb. 19.

However, he said the home at 2584 Grants Villa Road was a total loss.

An investigation by the state fire marshal could not determine a cause. However, inspectors suspect the blaze may have been sparked by a portable heater being used to warm pets.

No firefighters were injured in fighting that blaze.

Ellis County fire crews battled two significant grass fires Tuesday, while a third broke out across the county line in Russell County.

A grass fire west of U.S. 183 between Homestead Road and the Saline River burned about 270 acres. One hundred hay bales were caught in the blaze. Oil wells in the area were not affected, and cattle grazing in the area were able to be moved out of the path of the fire.

A home was threatened, but firefighters were able to protect the structure. An abandoned shed in the area was lost, Myers said.

Firefighters responded to another grass fire near Air Flyte Drive. A local resident was treated for smoke inhalation by EMS, but was not seriously injured, Myers said.

No firefighters were injured on calls this week.