Cincinnati Firefighter Dies in Fall Down Elevator Shaft
Source Firehouse.com News
Cincinnati firefighters are mourning the loss of Daryl Gordon, 54, who died after falling down an elevator shaft at a four-alarm fire Thursday morning. Gordon leaves behind his wife Angela and two daughters.
“He put himself in harm's way to help residents in the building,” said Mayor John Cranley at a press conference. “It takes a special breed to rush into fire when the natural instinct is to flee.”
The fire was reported in a second floor apartment around at King Tower Apartments at 5:30 a.m. The fire was contained by 6, Fox19.com reports.
Firefighters rescued several residents from the building, including one child.
Gordon, assigned to Heavy Rescue 14, "was searching in a primary search to see if there were more victims in the fire," Fire Chief Richard Braun said. "During that time, he came across the door and it was a elevator and the elevator wasn't there and he fell down the elevator shaft."
Around 6:20, a Mayday was called.
"If he comes loose, he falls another floor!" a firefighter said over the radio.
Gordon was extricated by 6:38 and he was rushed to an awaiting ambulance where he was taken to UC Medical Center.
"Fire scenes are horribly difficult to work in," Braun said earlier this morning. "We can't see. The scene constantly changes on you. It's hard to keep the direction you are going in. Our main goal is to keep our civilians safe and mitigate damage as much as we can. We put ourselves in harm's way everyday and, unfortunately, things happen."
"We could just use the community's prayers, the prayers for the family," Braun said earlier this morning.
Two others were injured, including a firefighter who suffered second degree burns and a resident who was being treated for smoke inhalation.
Gordon is the first Cincinnati firefighter to die in the line of duty since 2003.
