By Associated Press - Wednesday, February 24, 2021

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A woman found critically injured in a fire that consumed an abandoned commercial building in Topeka has died from her injuries, fire officials said.

Rashawn Brooks, 29, died Wednesday in a hospital where she was being treated, the Topeka fire Department said in a news release.

Fire crews were called around 8:30 p.m. Sunday to a fire in a single-story masonry commercial building that firefighters initially believed to be vacant. During a search of the building, firefighters found an unresponsive woman, later identified as Brooks, and rushed her to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.



An investigation showed the blaze was likely started by a “warming fire,” officials said.

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