WATCH ABOVE: A Fresno firefighter who was critically burned after falling into a burning garage remains in critical condition. Kathryn Herr reports.
TORONTO – A firefighter in California had to be hospitalized Sunday after taking a dramatic fall through the roof of a burning garage that forced him in the inferno for over a minute.
A captain of the Fresno Fire Department was in the midst of a standard ventilation procedure on the roof of a home at the corner of E. Cortland Avenue and N. Del Mar Avenue in Fresno when part of the structure collapsed.
Cellphone video captured by Sooji Lee showed a tower of flames immediately shoot out after the firefighter crashed through the roof. Screams could be heard in the background as onlookers watched in horror.
“That man lay injured in that burning inferno for between 60 and 180 seconds,” Joe Reyes, a former Marine who helped the rescue effort, told The Fresno Bee. “When they pulled him out, they immediately stripped off his clothes and covered him in water.”
Early reports indicate that the unidentified 25-year veteran suffered burns on over 60 to 70 per cent of his body. Fresno Fire Chief Kerri Donis told media that approximately 40 per cent of the burns are third degree.
Third degree burns are ranked by the Mayo Clinic as the most serious type of burn involving all layers of skin and underlying fat. Even muscle or bone can be affected.
Needless to say, the incident has crushed the Fresno fire community. Many of the injured captain’s colleagues also knew him personally.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that individual trained most of us here. I’ve trained with him as well,” Pete Flores, president of Fresno Firefighters’ Local 753, said.
After the fire captain left the fire scene in an ambulance, his colleagues could be seen embracing and supporting each other.
“This is a significant emotional impact to our members, who were part of the rescue, part of the incident and part of this firefighter’s personal life,” Battalion Chief Todd Tuggle added. “They’re broken right now, and that’s part of the process.”
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