Minnesota Fire Captain Talks About Close Call

Nov. 8, 2011
Eden Prarie Capt. Kurt Buchanan and Firefighter Scott Johnson were looking for hotspots following a quick-spreading garage fire at a home when the ceiling collapsed.

An Eden Prairie firefighter told KARE-TV that he and a colleague were lucky they weren't seriously injured in a ceiling collapse over the weekend.

Capt. Kurt Buchanan and Firefighter Scott Johnson were looking for hotspots following a quick-spreading garage fire at a home on Sunday when the ceiling collapsed on them.

The two men found themselves trapped under drywall and wet insulation.

Bachanan said that while they escaped the incident unscathed, the outcome could have been much different.

"Things can happen so quickly," he told the news station. "Who's going to call my wife? What is she seeing on the news? Until you get the confirmation that everything is going to be OK, you play out the scenarios of how quickly things can change."

The veteran firefighter has been helping raise money to build a memorial for fallen firefighters at the capitol and said the close call makes him feel even closer to the cause.

Fire officials said the fire was started by ashes from a portable fire pit that were placed in the garbage before they were extinguished

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