TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2015
BUFFALO, NEW YORK
Four Buffalo firefighters were injured while battling a
two-alarm fire on Maurice Street Monday night.
The extent of the injuries to the firefighters is unknown. They were taken to ECMC after the building
started collapsing and were inside when that happened.
Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield says two of the firefighters went to the hospital right away, the other two stayed on duty for a while longer.
No one was inside the house when firefighters got there.
In addition to smoke and flames, firefighters also had to contend with subzero temperatures. In fact, it was so cold that two 2 On Your Side cameras froze while recording the fire. Whitfield called conditions horrendous and said water lines were freezing. He says crews also had to deal with a frozen hydrant, and firefighters had to walk through a foot of water in front of the building.
"Our guys tried to get inside to get to the seat of the flames. They weren't able to do that. The building collapsed almost immediately. We had to pull everybody out. And thank goodness we didn't get too many guys inside," said Whitfield. "You know, any time you take a blow to the head, blow to the shoulder, neck area, you never know. So they're there being assessed right now. Serious enough for them to go, and we hope and pray that they will be okay."
They also brought in the rehab unit so firefighters could go inside and warm-up before going back out. Firefighters were still out there as of 11 p.m. Whitfield says this type of fire is just time consuming and very labor-intensive.
The fire was contained to the one house on the 100 block of Maurice Street.
Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield says two of the firefighters went to the hospital right away, the other two stayed on duty for a while longer.
No one was inside the house when firefighters got there.
In addition to smoke and flames, firefighters also had to contend with subzero temperatures. In fact, it was so cold that two 2 On Your Side cameras froze while recording the fire. Whitfield called conditions horrendous and said water lines were freezing. He says crews also had to deal with a frozen hydrant, and firefighters had to walk through a foot of water in front of the building.
"Our guys tried to get inside to get to the seat of the flames. They weren't able to do that. The building collapsed almost immediately. We had to pull everybody out. And thank goodness we didn't get too many guys inside," said Whitfield. "You know, any time you take a blow to the head, blow to the shoulder, neck area, you never know. So they're there being assessed right now. Serious enough for them to go, and we hope and pray that they will be okay."
They also brought in the rehab unit so firefighters could go inside and warm-up before going back out. Firefighters were still out there as of 11 p.m. Whitfield says this type of fire is just time consuming and very labor-intensive.
The fire was contained to the one house on the 100 block of Maurice Street.