May 26--HIGH POINT -- A firefighter was injured Monday after firefighters responded to an abandoned house on fire at 1506 E. Commerce Avenue.
A neighbor reported the fire at 11:59 a.m. and firefighters could see a column of black smoke from a distance, Tim Wright, deputy chief at the High Point Fire Department, said.
Firefighters arrived to find the entire house engulfed in flames but were able to control and extinguish the blaze within minutes, Wright said.
As a firefighter searched the inside of the house after the flames were out, he slipped and fell into a hole in the floor, Wright said, and injured his back.
"He stepped in a hole when they were in there doing a primary search," Wright said. "He injured his back, it's not life threatening but he's in some pain."
The cause of the fire is still under investigation but Wright said there's a good chance the fire was set but he is unsure if it was intentional.
"It's very suspicious, there's no electricity on in the house," Wright said.
The abandoned house has caught fire before, he said, the last time in 2009.
Wright said the department would not release the name of the firefighter but said he was being treated at High Point Regional Health for his injuries.
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