A rookie firefighter pulled a captain to safety after he fell through a roof at a Menlo Park house fire Friday night.
KTVU.com reports that the captain stepped over the ridge line of the roof, after completing a ventilation hole with Probationary Firefighter Carlos Carpenter, when he found the roof to be spongy.
The captain told Carpenter to get off the roof and moments later he fell through.
Officials said Carpenter grabbed the captain's SCBA straps and pulled him to safety.
Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouma called roof operations "inherently dangerous but necessary."
The captain suffered burns to his hands and was transported to the hospital where he was released Saturday.
"We feel very fortunate that the Captain's injuries were not more serious, given what occurred," Schapelhouma said. Probationary Firefighter Carpenter distinguished himself last night, making all of us very proud and grateful for his quick action. It’s not lost on any of us that this call could have had a much worse outcome.”
Schapelhouma will open a close call investigation into the incident.
