Firehouse.com

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Oct. 24--An early morning two-alarm blaze has left seven people in Troy homeless and sent one firefighter to the hospital after he fell through a staircase at the scene.

The Troy Fire Department responded to a call for a grease fire at 33 Rankin Ave. at approximately 6 a.m. According to Fire Chief Thomas Garrett, when firefighters arrived, the single-family, wood-frame home was fully involved.

"Flames were coming out of every window," Garrett said after the fact. "There were seven people in there and they were all very fortunate to escape alive."

Firefighter Raymond Littlejohn avoided injury when he fell through a staircase from the attic to the basement of the one-and-a-half-story structure, Garrett said. Littlejohn was treated and released at an area hospital.

Garrett said the fire originated in the kitchen where family members were apparently cooking chicken nuggets. It then spread to an outdoor propane grill.

When the fire ignited in the kitchen at least two people were trapped in the basement and crawled to safety through a very small window, Garrett said.

People in the home had tried to put out the fire before calling for help, Garrett said.

"You never do that," Garrett said. "You get out and you call 911. People don't realize that a fire doubles in volume for every minute it burns."