Beaumont firefighter Cody Schroeder had burns covering 34 percent of his body, predominately on his back, with 14 percent of those third degree burns after a house fire flared up Monday morning.
Schroeder, 27, who is expected to have surgery this morning due to his injuries, has his fellow firefighters to thank that the outcome wasn't worse for him and another hospitalized firefighter.
Fire dispatchers were initially given the wrong address. A witness who called in the fire said that the burning house was near Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Franklin Street. Instead, it was located at MLK and Neches Street, about six blocks away.
Beaumont firefighters eventually arrived at the house at 2180 Neches at about 8:50 a.m. and performed a rescue operation because there were was a van in the driveway, and someone was still possibly inside, said Jeff McNeel, Beaumont fire and rescue district chief.
No one was inside after a search of the home, so a three-man suppression crew, which included Shroeder, began to attack the fire at the rear of the house.
Two other firefighters were near the front of the house when a flashover occurred on the ground floor, sending fire rolling onto the ceiling, and blasting out the front of the living room windows, fully igniting the area.
Once the flashover hit, everyone scrambled to get out, including Capt. Calvin Carrier, 44, who jumped out a side window, but needed help removing the burglar bars that were blocking the window.
Schroeder, who was surrounded by fire and smoke, was still stuck inside when the rescue crew of Capt. Billy Ware, Jeff Julian and Pete Johnson charged inside the home and rescued him. Schroeder's protective gear had been badly melted.
Both Schroeder and Carrier had to be taken by helicopter to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. McNeel said Schroeder is in stable condition and is undergoing surgery this morning while Carrier, who received second degree burns to his head, is expected to be released today.
Four other firefighters, including Johnson, went to local hospitals for burn injuries or injuries sustained while fighting the fire. All four were checked and released, McNeel said.
The fire, which started as the result of an electrical heater sitting too close to a mattress, was finally extinguished later in the morning.
Nu Truong, who lived at the house, babysits her 1-year-old grandson, Kevin, and is usually still in the house that early in the morning. She had went to the store around 8:30 a.m.
She came home to find her house charred and most of her clothes burned, but she was relieved to find the wooden keepsake box that holds her husband's ashes was still intact.
"I'm very happy," she said.
Chris Vongrugthai, 27, had just started his mail route in Port Arthur when he got the call his mother-in-law's house was on fire.
"I had tears in my eyes when I found out everybody was OK," he said.
With Beaumont firefighters pushing for four-man truck crews, yet still working with three-man crews, McNeel said it would be "speculative" to suggest a four-man crew might have prevented Monday's injuries.
"Four-man crews have proven to be more efficient," McNeel said, "but that's because you've got more manpower."
He said with a four-man crew you can break it into two teams, and still keep the two-man team integrity when entering a fire.
But the three-man crews still do a good job, considering McNeel can't remember the last time a Beaumont firefighter suffered a burn injury this severe.
"We do our best to maintain safety with three-man crews," he said.
Yet days like Monday can occur.
"This is a dangerous profession."
Republished with permission from The Beaumont Enterprise
