Hutchinson firefighters battle two simultaneous structure fires
Crews split resources to extinguish blazes reported four minutes apart
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson firefighters contained two structure fires on opposite sides of the city that broke out less than four minutes apart Thursday, forcing the department to rapidly divide its emergency resources.
According to a Hutchinson Fire Department Facebook post, the first incident began at 1:03 p.m. when heavy black smoke was reported coming from a 30-by-50-foot detached metal garage in the 600 block of W. 18th Ave. Crews made a quick interior attack and extinguished a vehicle fire within 10 minutes.
At 1:07 p.m., while the initial team was still engaged, remaining available city units were dispatched to the 1700 block of N. Madison St., where they extinguished a smoldering residential porch fire in approximately five minutes.
The back-to-back calls highlighted the operational readiness of the 91-member department, which operates under Fire Chief Jeremy Unruh to protect the city's 108-square-mile response area.
Fire officials noted the garage fire remained relatively small due to restricted airflow inside the building. No injuries were reported, and no specific dollar amounts for property damage were immediately available. A cause for either fire had not been publicly disclosed as of publication. Investigations into both scenes continue.
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