A Longview firefighter fell through a ceiling during a fire and lived. He's now back on the job.
Justin Jenkins is the firefighter. He told CBS19 it happened so fast, he didn't have time to think, he just had time to react. He said his training kicked in and paid off.
Friday night, Longview firefighters were called out to the abandoned Country Place Apartment complex. Justin Jenkins was sent inside to douse the flames.
"What we didn't realize is there are several holes in this building that were already here," he said. The building is abandoned, but vandals have left their mark as Jenkins discovered.
"I took one step forward and fell through. It happened so fast I never had time to think about it," Jenkins explained.
His immediate reaction saved him from a possibly devastating fall.
"They said they could see the top of my helmet and my elbows," he said he stuck out his arms to catch himself, and two of his colleagues jumped to action to pull him out.
"We're always taught to work in teams and never work by yourself so I had two firefighters right beside me," he said.
His training to handle dangerous situations kept him unhurt.
"This is just another one of those things that can happen on a fire ground and we're more or less taught over and over to stay calm," said Jenkins.
Now that the smoke has cleared, Jenkins can clearly see the 2 by 2 foot hole he fell through and he knows the situation could have been much worse.
"We go into structure fires everyday. That's just something we're used to, but this is definitely a close call for me and I hope I don't repeat it."
The building is owned by Longview ISD and is set to be demolished. The fire department says had they known the building was going to be demolished, they might have not risked the lives of firefighters by going inside the building.
Fire officials believe the fire was caused as a result of a person vandalizing the building. They are not calling it arson, but they believe the vandalism may have ignited the fire.
Republished with permission of KYTX-TV.
Related Training Links
- Commercial Construction Considerations: Buildings Under Construction and Renovation
- Saving Our Own: The Powell Doctrine and Interior Fire Operations
- The Firefighter Disorientation Challenge
- A Simple Tool for Complicated Tasks: The Rescue Loop
- Situation Awareness During Size-Up
- Company Level Training - Rescuing a Downed Firefighter - Part 1
- Company Level Training - Rescuing a Downed Firefighter - Part 2
