Four firefighters were burned while battling a blaze at a commercial building in downtown Robstown early Thursday morning.
Crews were working to extinguish the fire at an old theater converted into a gymnastics facility around 1:45 a.m. when a partial roof collapse sent flames out the rear of the structure, according to The Corpus Christi Caller.
A Corpus Christi firefighter suffered second- and third-degree burns on his face and arms and was transported to Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial before being flown to Brooke Army Medical Center's burn unit in San Antonio.
The condition of the unidentified firefighter was not reported.
Two Robstown firefighters and one with Annaville were treated for minor burns.
"It was a defensive attack," Annaville Fire Chief Michael Clack told the newspaper. "The flashover from the roof collapse ignited the whole building, blowing fire out the back."
Officials said the fire at the two story structure quickly spread into an adjacent commercial building used for storage.
Firefighters cleared the scene at around 7 a.m. after battling the fire for close to five and a half hours.
The cause of the fire is under investigation
