Friday, April 20, 2012
A St. Louis firefighter was injured early this morning when part of a house collapsed, authorities said.
Firefighters were walking through a vacant house in the 4400 block of Bessie Avenue after extinguishing a fire there about 2:30 a.m. when a firefighter fell through the second floor to the first-floor kitchen, said Capt. Dan Sutter of the St. Louis Fire Department.
The rear section of the house collapsed, causing debris to fall on top of the firefighter. His identity was being withheld.
Sutter said the firefighter's injuries are not life-threatening. The firefighter was treated and released from St. Louis University Hospital.
The fire spread to a house next door and caused some damage but two people inside escaped safely, Sutter said.
"There's a lot of hazards in fires but we train and equip our firefighters to minimize those risks as best we can," Sutter said.
