Operations & Training

Photos: Firefighter Bails Out at TX House Fire

Jan. 15, 2024

A Fort Worth captain jumped through a window to exit a home as flames engulfed the room he was working in Sunday night.

Capt. Brian Alexander clears the window frame after bailing out from the burning room.

Editor's Note: The photos were captured by Firehouse Editor-in-Chief Peter Matthews, who also chases fires in Fort Worth.

A Fort Worth fire captain had a close call Sunday night, forcing him to dive out a window as the room he was working in became engulfed in flames.

Just after 11:40 p.m., firefighters were dispatched for a house fire in the Como neighborhood, with a report that a heater sparked the fire.

Crews from Station 16 arrived to find heavy smoke from a one-story, wood-frame home and began an interior attack, according to the Fire Department.

Conditions quickly changed and the front room of the home, where crews were operating, was engulfed in flames. Capt. Larry Young noticed the changing situation and grabbed a hoseline that was by the front door to apply water to the room.

Then, Quint 16 Capt. Brian Alexander dove out the window head first as flames licked out the window above him.

The fire was quickly knocked down and crews returned to the interior to open up the structure.

No injuries were reported.

This was one of a half-dozen fires in Fort Worth Sunday as the region faced near-single digit temperatures.

About the Author

Peter Matthews | Editor-in-Chief/Conference Director

Peter Matthews is the conference director and editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department.