KANSAS CITY, Mo — Loved ones of a 16-year-old girl who died at a Northeast Kansas City house fire came back to the scene Sunday to put up a memorial. They placed it right next to a second floor window, the same one firefighters pulled her from.
Those crews fought a wall of smoke as they searched for the girl, who they knew was in trouble, within moments of their arrival Saturday morning.
"There's a victim trapped, second floor, according to the parents. I'm running upstairs to make a rescue right now," a firefighter said on dispatch audio captured on Broadcastify.com.
At this point in the investigation, KCFD is labeling this fire accidental and said it began because of a bad fireplace flue.
Neighbor Javier Garcia and his family watched the rescue efforts.
"I saw everybody get out so I didn't think nobody else was in there,” Garcia said. “That's what everybody thought.”
Almost 30 minutes into the operation, firefighters found the 16-year-old girl.
"You could tell she was dead,” Garcia said. “She had smoke all over and everything and I felt bad for her.”
Although paramedics tried to revive her, the girl died at the scene.
Neighbors said the girl, originally from Honduras, was a new face on the block.
"Everybody was surprised, shocked even the mom especially she [was] over there crying a lot," Garcia said.
