Three Boston Firefighters Hurt in Collapse

June 19, 2007
A porch they were standing on collapsed while they were fighting a fire.

BOSTON --

Three Boston firefighters were rushed to the hospital early Tuesday morning after a porch they were standing on collapsed while they were fighting a fire.

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that none of their injuries were life threatening.

Crews on the scene said all three firefighters were on the second-floor porch of the 22 Darling St. three-story apartment complex in Mission Hill when the porch on the third floor collapsed on top of them.

Fire department spokesman Steve McDonald said firefighters Chris Wright and David Donahoe sustained back and other injuries when a third-floor porch collapsed on to them. A third firefighter was treated for an arm injury.

The first aim for responding firefighters was to make sure everyone was out of the building.

"During the primary search, firefighters were making progress on the second floor and were starting to get into the building when the third floor porches collapsed on top of them. Two firefighters were buried, they were trapped under debris for several minutes as the other firefighters removed the debris on top of them and were able to free them," Boston Fire Chief Kevin MacCurtain said.

Investigators were trying to determine whether the porches on all three levels of the building were up to code. They said it was not properly attached to the building and there were no smoke detectors in the building.

They said no one else was injured in the fire, and all seven residents escaped safely.

"Family seems traumatized. We'll probably have our mental health people do a follow up with them tomorrow," Michael Klau of the American Red Cross said.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

Voice Your Opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Firehouse, create an account today!