UPDATE (3:35 p.m.): The Kansas City Fire Department said the man firefighters pulled from the building has died.
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ORIGINAL STORY: A homeowner is critically hurt in a house fire Tuesday morning.
Firefighters say they had to pull the man in his 60s out of a burning house located in the 5100 block of Argentine Blvd near South 50th Terrace after flames broke out around 8 a.m.
According to officials, when firefighters responded to the single-story structure, there was smoke and fire coming from the back of the house.
Crews immediately went inside to search for the tenant trapped inside.
Rescuers found the man in a rear bathroom and were able to get him out to the front yard where paramedics began doing CPR on him.
Firefighters say this could been much worse if their station house was far away.
“One of the big keys is that we have fire stations in local areas that we have the number of fire stations we have, we are able to respond for the citizens of Kansas City, Kansas in a timely manner just what happened here—we can save lives,” Acting Deputy Chief John Zimbelman with KCKFD said.
Neighbors say a family of three lived at the home—the injured man, his wife and their son who wasn’t home at the time of the fire.
According to neighbors, the wife tried to rescue her husband before firefighters showed up but the fire was too much.
Officials also say they're still looking for the family's pet dog.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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Andres Gutierrez can be reached at andres.gutierrez@kshb.com.
