One Gary firefighter was taken to a hospital burn center in Chicago
on Tuesday and two were treated locally after being blown down the
stairway of a burning, vacant two-story building.
Capt. Timothy
Haines, a 21-year veteran of the Gary Fire Department, was taken by
ambulance to the Loyola University Hospital burn center in Maywood, a
fire official said. Haines, who is in stable condition, suffered
second-degree burns to his left hand, a burn on the top of his head and a
cut on his head, Division chief James Stanton said.
Firefighter
Jonathan Kalina, a seven-year department veteran, was treated at a local
hospital for a contusion on his left arm, Stanton said.
A 14-year
department veteran, Engineer Robert Grady, also was treated locally for
burns to his ears and neck, Stanton said. The fourth firefighter in the
stairwell was not injured.
The firefighters were in the
storefront building at 1545 Delaware St., which has apartments on the
upper level, when they were blown down the stairs by a flashover,
Stanton said.
The department received a 911 call reporting the fire at 1:30 a.m., Stanton said. It was extinguished within an hour.
Stanton
said the point of origin and the cause of the single-alarm fire are
under investigation. There was no damage estimate available, he said.
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said she is praying for the recovery of the injured firefighters.
“This
is just further evidence of the sacrifice that all firefighters and
public workers make on our behalf,” Freeman-Wilson said. “It underscores
the importance of: one, safety; two, making sure they have the adequate
resources; and three, the debt of gratitude that we owe them.
“We
have been working to get equipment,” Freeman-Wilson said. “We have been
working to get apparatus. We have been doing this all in the face of
the compromised budget. It’s a real juggling act.”
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/gary-firefighters-injured-after-being-blown-down-stairway-by-flashover/article_210549b6-e485-5c59-8950-6d286715efed.html
