Crews from Tempe, Mesa and Scottsdale responded to the duplex fire at 1204 S. Mill Avenue at approximately 10:40 p.m., according to Tempe Fire Investigator Mike Reichling.
He said that the brick house -- built in the 1940s -- trapped the smoke and heat from the fire, which combined with compressed gases the homeowner stored indoors. When the oxygen hit the gasses, it set off a massive explosion.
"When the firefighters opened the door, it just let go," he said.
One Tempe firefighter standing at the entrance was thrown close to 15 feet into the yard while a nearby Mesa firefighter was thrown about 10 feet.
Reichling said the explosion obliterated the door, sending it across the front yard and into the street, hitting a fire engine and missing the engineer by only a few feet.
The explosion pushed the ceiling up about two inches and sent flames through the attic.
The two thrown firefighters and a third all received minor burns and were observed at the scene.
"They were all wearing their proper PPE and we were very fortunate they were," he said, noting that the advancements that have been made over the years to equipment worn by firefighters played a big part in preventing serious injuries.
"Training and equipment absolutely made the difference. If this happened 30 years ago, we would have had dead firefighters."
Paul Peluso | Staff Writer
Paul Peluso is a Firehouse.com staff writer and has worked for the Web site since 2006. Previously, he worked as a reporter for several community newspapers located in the suburbs of Baltimore, Md. Since joining the newsteam, Paul has covered various fire service issues including fire sprinklers, grants, line of duty deaths and technology. While he started out at the Beltsville, Md. office, he has since moved to Florida where he works out of his home office in Tampa.
