May 16--ALTON -- Flames in a basement fire seriously burned a man's upper torso early Wednesday morning, with the victim being treated for second-degree burns in a St. Louis hospital.
At the same time, a city firefighter injured his lower back when a man at the house, 3818 Western Ave., allegedly ran toward the house and slammed into him, pushing him off an elevated porch, police said.
The Madison County State's Attorney's Office on Wednesday afternoon subsequently charged the suspect, Henry Jarrett, 27, with aggravated battery, a felony.
A judge set bond of $75,000.
"When fire crews tried to enter the house, a firefighter was assaulted by a person living at the house who pushed a firefighter as (the resident) tried to get back in the house," Battalion Chief Brad Sweetman of the Alton Fire Department said about the incident. "Police took a man at the residence into custody for assaulting a firefighter trying to do his job, and who was injured."
The firefighter, Capt. Matt Williams, landed on his side, on top of his air tank, "when he attempted to effect a rescue," said Pfc. Emily Hejna of the Alton Police Department.
"Alton police officers on the scene were able to control the male and remove him from the path of the Alton firefighters, so they could continue their mission," Hejna said. "In spite of the pain he was in, Captain Williams pulled himself from the ground, adjusted his gear and rejoined the other firefighters in the search for the missing resident."
Sweetman said AFD paramedics treated Williams at the scene, and he went to a hospital, where he was treated further and released.
Sweetman declined to identify the burn victim, following policy that Fire Chief Bernie Sebold implemented last year regarding confidentiality of people receiving medical treatment. The victim's condition also was not available.
Hejna also declined to identify the victim, who was being treated in the burn unit at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis County, Mo. She said his condition was unknown Wednesday afternoon.
The fire, which someone called in to 911 at 3:26 a.m., was contained to a small area of the basement of the single-family, brick house in the Milton neighborhood.
What ignited the fire remains under investigation, but a cause and origin team is not involved in that determination, Sweetman said.
He said Alton went to a mutual aid box alarm, summoning a crew of four from the East Alton Fire Department, bringing the total to 15 firefighters at the scene from both departments.
Sebold and Deputy Chief Mark Harris also came to the fire scene.
"When the firefighters arrived, smoke was coming from the front door with residents outside," Sweetman said. "They said someone still was in the basement, where the fire was. The firefighters found a 59-year-old male victim in the basement and got him out. He had burns to the upper torso of his body."
Sweetman said paramedics from the Fire Department and Alton Memorial Ambulance Service treated the victim, then the ambulance service took the man to Alton Memorial Hospital. An ARCH Air Medical Services helicopter subsequently flew the man to Mercy.
Firefighters pulled a handline into the basement, where a couch was burning, and quickly extinguished the flames before they could spread into the rest of the house. Sweetman could not say whether the injured man had been on the couch when he was burned.
"It took 15 minutes to get the fire under control," Sweetman said.
Firefighters remained at the home until 4:50 a.m.
A Fire Department report listed the loss from the fire at $10,000.
Copyright 2013 - The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.
