Sept. 19--VICTORVILLE -- Two firefighters were burned while fighting a house fire in Victorville on Thursday afternoon, a San Bernardino County Fire Department official said.
Seven people inside the home were safely evacuated before fire officials arrived, county fire spokesman Eric Sherwin said.
Firefighters first to arrive saw heavy smoke and fire erupting from the backside attic of the two-story, 3,000-square foot home on the 14500 block of Crossing Trail, he said.
During an aggressive interior attack, two firefighters received thermal burns. The firefighters left the building under their own power, Sherwin said.
The first firefighter received superficial burns to his face and neck, while the second suffered first and second degree burns to both hands. Both were transported to a regional burn center for evaluation of their injuries.
Eighteen county firefighters from Victorville, Hesperia and Adelanto worked to put out the blaze, which took approximately 30 minutes to control. The home is estimated to be valued at $240,000 and damage to the home is estimated at $200,000, Sherwin said.
The head of household Phyllis Jordan said she was renting the home. She said her friend and five children were upstairs when they heard the smoke alarm go off. Jordan said that she later discovered her entire back window downstairs was filled with flames.
Her friend Stacey Miller said she had smelled a "cigarette smoke" scent one hour earlier.
"I have no idea how it started," Jordan said. "My two daughters had just returned from school and the kids were upstairs watching TV. We had just finished eating a pizza downstairs."
Jordan said she called for her children from upstairs as soon as she discovered the downstairs window was on fire. The family safely evacuated, but one child, 14-year-old Christian, said he ran back upstairs to grab his mother's purse.
Sherwin said this scenario often happens during house fires, and he wanted to advise the public not to re-enter a home where there is a suspected or confirmed fire.
"We can replace articles, but we can't replace people," Sherwin said. "It is never safe to enter a house where you have a suspected or confirmed fire. The safest or smartest thing to do is to exit the building and call 911 from another location."
A column of black smoke that was visible from several miles away billowed from the house and alerted many passersby, including Erik Hughes. Hughes said he stopped to make sure that no one was still inside the home.
"I found out everyone was OK and then the fire department showed up," Hughes said.
The Red Cross was requested for the displaced residents, according to a news release from county fire officials. The cause of the fire is being investigated by San Bernardino County's Office of the Fire Marshall, the release stated.
Copyright 2013 - Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.
