Close Call for Calif. Firefighter at Smoky Fire

The San Bernadino firefighter missed a hole that would have dropped him 10 feet into a basement.

Source San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.

May 25, 2014

May 24--SAN BERNARDINO -- A firefighter narrowly avoided falling 10 feet into a basement while fighting a blaze Friday night, authorities said in a written statement.

Firefighters were battling heavy smoke and fire in a two-story house on the 1200 block of Laurelwood Drive at about 10 p.m. when the firefighter narrowly avoided stepping into the 3-foot-by-4-foot hole that dropped 10 feet into the basement, according to the statement.

The fire was extinguished in about 25 minutes, after causing an estimated $150,000 in property damage and saving an additional $250,000 in property, firefighters say.

The cause is unknown, but arson investigators were still on scene early Saturday.