CAPTION: The early morning February 1 house fire in the 1000 block of East 3rd Street in Hutchinson is still under investigation and the house and property are being treated as a crime scene with continued police surveillance. An adult and juvenile were found deceased and another adult and juvenile were transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. CREDIT KATE IRELAN / THE HUTCHINSON TRIBUNE
By Michael Glenn and Kate Irelan
As of 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 3rd, Hutchinson Police are not releasing any further details about the early morning Feb. 1 house fire in the 1000 block of East 3rd Street in Hutchinson.
“Out of respect to the family and to preserve the integrity of the investigation, we are not releasing information to the media at this time,” Police Captain Dayton Gates said. “I am hoping in the next day or so to have an updated press release. We don’t want to accidentally release information early that might harm the investigation.”
The house and property are still under police surveillance and are being treated as a crime scene with yellow crime tape across the front yard and a police vehicle blocking the driveway and the alley in the back. The house has little visible fire damage from the street, except for some smoke residue above one broken window facing the street. A pink blanket with stars is hanging from inside the window covering the hole. Items in the yard and nearby homes do not appear to have fire damage.
Chief Steve Beer with the Hutchinson Fire Department and the Kansas State Fire Marshal, who are both involved with the investigation, could not be reached for comment at the time of this update.
As reported in the Hutchinson Tribune on February 1:
At 3:22 a.m. Saturday morning, the Hutchinson Fire Department was dispatched to the 1000 Block of East 3rd to a report of a structure fire with possible people trapped.
While en route, dispatch advised a neighbor notified the house was on fire and there were people in the basement. Hutchinson Police Department arrived on the scene and found one juvenile standing out front of the residence and they transferred care directly to EMS who was on scene.
First arriving fire crews found smoke coming from the 900 sq ft single-family residence. They initiated an aggressive interior fire attack and search operation. Crews were immediately met with a hole in the first floor. They were able to navigate to the interior stairwell and made entry into the basement where they found 3 victims and the fire. Crews worked diligently to remove all three victims from the basement as the stairwell had been compromised due to fire.
The fire was considered controlled shortly after. Two of the victims, one adult and one juvenile, were found deceased and 2, one adult and one juvenile, were transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. The incident is still under investigation in collaboration with Kansas State Fire Marshals Office.
At this time any inquiries can be directed through the Hutchinson Police Department. There will be Hutchinson Fire and Hutchinson Police presence at the site for an extended period of time for investigation purposes.
This case is still under investigation. If you have any information regarding it, please contact Reno County Crime Stoppers or call Hutchinson Police Department 620-694-2816 and reference case number 2025-4633.
We would like to thank Hutchinson Reno County Emergency Communications, Reno County EMS, Kansas State Fire Marshalls Office, Kansas Gas, Evergy, Hutchinson Public Works, and Hutchinson Animal Control Officers.
