OILDALE, Calif. --
A firefighter was hurt after a refrigerator fell on top of him in a burning house in Oildale Saturday morning, but he was quickly saved by his crew.
"I was just laying there on the ground kind of picking myself up, and then I just felt the other guys come and grab me and start pulling me out," Kern County firefighter Devin Lawrence said.
It all started just before 8 a.m.
The crew at Station 63 was called out to a vacant house going up in flames on Washington Avenue. Lawrence ran into the burning building with the hose, and as he turned a smokey blind corner in the kitchen, he suddenly found himself trapped.
"I was trying to pull the hose to get to a hot spot in the back of the house, where somehow, I guess the hose held on to the refrigerator and as I went down to pull the last bit of hose, just felt something hit me," he said.
City crews immediately called out the emergency, and his fellow firefighters rescued him.
"When it hit me, I just saw a little bit of stars and it was kind of dark," he said. "And I could feel myself trying to get up, but I'm not getting up, and then I felt the other firefighters, fellow firefighters grabbing on to me and pulling me out."
He was treated on the scene for minor injuries and then immediately wanted to return to duty to help mop up. His captain said this situation is exactly why they train together so often.
"My firefighter tries to downplay it a little bit," said Capt. Butch Agosta. "The way that we work with each other, we trust each other with our lives. The minute we get the call, the minute we go in. So you're just extremely thankful, but you know what, the training is needed, and it worked, and that's why we did what we did."
Lawrence has some bumps and bruises and a sore shoulder, but he said he'll be just fine thanks to his commrades.
"Thank you to everyone," Lawrence said. "It's a brotherhood out there. We're always there looking out for one another and taking care of one another."
The house and a motorhome next to it were damaged. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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