We were working the exterior of a structure fire at 2330. The structure was a single story ranch style home with a basement. There was no illumination on the d-side of the structure other than personel handlights. There was heavy smoke and fire conditions on that side of the structure. We were making a knockdown of the exterior fire and trying to cool an interior room before the interior crew made entry and their attack. After knocking down the fire high on the gable end we moved towards the structure. Steam and smoke conditions made for almost zero visibility. I took a step and found myself lying on the bottom of an egress window well about 5 feet below grade. As I fell I struck my head and my helmet was knocked off I was dazed and took a few seconds to get my bearings. My partner was yelling for me and I finally responded and was able to get to my feet and crawled from the egress well. We continued with fireground operations. I was later checked out at the local ER due to head and neck pain.
LESSONS LEARNED: Look up, look down, look around. Don’t go there if you can’t see your feet.
