KANSAS CITY, MO -
A 51-year-old Kansas City woman is dead after the house she was living in caught fire. Firefighters learned the woman actually ran out of the home, but for some reason went back inside, a move that cost her her life.
The fire broke out just after 4:30 Tuesday morning near 84th & Wabash in Kansas City, Mo.
Neighbors said they heard the woman's cries for help, but quickly realized there was nothing they could do.
"She was screaming and crying her house was on fire," said Delores Jackson, neighbor. "My son went around back to try to get her out, but he has never been to the back of the house."
Within minutes of putting the fire out, crews found the 51-year-old woman's body in a back bedroom.
No one knows why she went back inside the burning home.
"Karen went back in after something, and that is the last Kathy saw of her," Jackson said.
For neighbors, coming to terms with the loss is overwhelming, and so is the anger.
"It was an half hour before water was put on it," Jackson said.
Neighbor after neighbor told FOX 4 that firefighters wasted precious minutes when they could not locate the fire hydrant.
"While it may have taken a little of time to set the hydrant itself, it did not effect the fire attack at all," said Joe Vitale, Kansas City Battalion Fire Chief.
Vitale also said each pumper truck carries 500 gallons of water, so lack of water was never an issue.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The fire broke out just after 4:30 Tuesday morning near 84th & Wabash in Kansas City, Mo.
Neighbors said they heard the woman's cries for help, but quickly realized there was nothing they could do.
"She was screaming and crying her house was on fire," said Delores Jackson, neighbor. "My son went around back to try to get her out, but he has never been to the back of the house."
Within minutes of putting the fire out, crews found the 51-year-old woman's body in a back bedroom.
No one knows why she went back inside the burning home.
"Karen went back in after something, and that is the last Kathy saw of her," Jackson said.
For neighbors, coming to terms with the loss is overwhelming, and so is the anger.
"It was an half hour before water was put on it," Jackson said.
Neighbor after neighbor told FOX 4 that firefighters wasted precious minutes when they could not locate the fire hydrant.
"While it may have taken a little of time to set the hydrant itself, it did not effect the fire attack at all," said Joe Vitale, Kansas City Battalion Fire Chief.
Vitale also said each pumper truck carries 500 gallons of water, so lack of water was never an issue.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
