WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Wednesday night there was a house fire in northwest Wichita where a special needs woman was in the basement. And it was her brother, Jonathan Cunningham, who told firefighters where she was located.

“The shop phone goes off and it's my number. I answer it's my wife telling me the garage is on fire. I go 'huh?' And repeat the garage is on fire. I was like I gotta go,” said Jonathan Cunningham, the homeowner.

Jonathan Cunningham is working closely with the Red Cross a day after his house caught fire. It happened around 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday. When Cunningham got there, he saw all of his family outside except for his sister.

“Finally, one of the firefighters came up to me and asked me to move back. I was like no, my sister is down in the basement. And at first, they didn't know it was a basement. I pointed out the room and they busted down the back door,” said Cunningham.

Cunningham believes he is part of the reason his 43-year-old special needs sister was able to get out of the fire. But what if fire crews don't know who lives in a home that's on fire?

“They can contact the fire department if they do have members that we partner up with Sedgwick County 911 to have that informed at a specific address,” said Wichita Battalion Chief Jose Ocadiz. 

You can tell Sedgwick County dispatch if someone in your home is disabled, special needs, deaf, or anything else. Also, we found out, there are things you can get for those who are hard of hearing.

Our deaf or hard of hearing members we do have a partnership with the State Fire Marshall's office to receive bed shakers or even strobes for their homes,” said Ocadiz.

If you have a fire, make sure to tell 911 dispatchers if someone may have trouble getting out. As a last resort, tell crews on the scene.

“Once we arrive on the scene, even informing the fire crews, 'is everybody accounted for?' Or family members are in certain parts of the house and unable to get out,” said Ocadiz.

Cunningham wishes there was something else available to let first responders know his sister or anyone else who is disabled was trapped inside.

“Even with notification, if I wasn't here and I mean eventually the kids realized, that the sister, their aunt was inside. There wasn't anything else no indicators letting them know that anybody else was in the house. It would just be nice to have something like that,” said Cunningham.

Cunningham tells us his sister is doing much better. Despite him losing his home, he is just glad everyone is okay. For information on what you can get for those who are hard of hearing click here.