PA Firefighter Seriously Injured Breaking Woman's Fall
By Kayla Dwyer
Source The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.)
Four people were sent to the hospital after firefighters rescued two women from a fire at an Easton home early Monday, officials said.
The fire, which claimed the lives of at least two pets, broke out on the first floor of a single-family home at 145 S Eighth St. shortly before 1 a.m., Deputy Chief Henry Hennings said. By the time firefighters arrived minutes later, 27-year-old Jennifer Litzinger and 22-year-old Shania Reed were on the roof of the dining room bay window, with smoke and fire consuming the first floor below.
Litzinger came down the ladder with assistance from firefighters, Hennings said. But when Lt. Andrew Wuttke went up to retrieve Reed, flames burst out the bay window, breaking the window and leaving Wuttke with second-degree burns on his hand.
The fire forced Wuttke back down the ladder, leaving Reed with the option to jump.
Reed did so, Hennings said, and firefighter Justin Pichaj broke her fall.
Pichaj remains in St. Luke’s Hospital with serious injuries but is in stable condition, Hennings said. Wuttke was treated for his burns and has been released.
The two women were also transported to the hospital, Litzinger for non-life threatening injuries. Reed sustained far more serious injuries in the fall but is in stable condition, Hennings said.
Hennings said one dog and one cat died in the fire, and possibly a second cat.
Investigators determined the cause of the fire is electrical in nature. Firefighters brought the flames under control around 2:30 a.m., holding most of the damage to the first floor, Hennings said.
“The guys did one hell of a job stopping the fire from destroying the house completely,” he said.
Four people live in the more than 100-year-old home, but only Reed and Litzinger were home at the time of the fire, Hennings said. Authorities cleared the scene shortly after 4 a.m.
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