Two Minneapolis firefighters were burned Saturday after they were caught in a flashover.
Crews were dispatched to a reported house fire at 1082 17th Avenue SE just after 11:30 a.m.
Crews found light smoke and flames showing from the three-story wood-frame home. "It didn't present itself as much with very little smoke showing when they arrived," Assistant Chief Cheri Penn told Firehouse.com on Saturday night.
Penn said two firefighters, with nine and 19 years on the job, were using an axe to open up knee walls on the third floor on the A/D corner where crews expected the seat of the fire to be found.
"As they opened up the walls, it flashed over on them," she said.
The blast threw one firefighter across the room. He found his way to a window where he called for help.
As crews srambled to put ladders to the attic window, the firefighter dropped to a second floor porch about eight feet away. They carried the injured firefighter to the ground for treatment.
A witness said the flashover was quite loud and within seconds, heavy fire was venting out of the attic area.
The second firefighter was able to retreat to the stairwell and was assisted by other crews out to the street.
Penn said the firefighters suffered second and third degree burns from the flashover. "They're doing OK considering the circumstances."
No other firefighters were injured.
A second alarm was dispatched as the fire quickly took possesion of the top floor of the home.
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.
