A strong, physically fit, Denver firefighter collapsed late Tuesday morning while battling a house fire, and investigators say that the regulator attached to his oxygen mask may be to blame.
Billy Green, 35, had to be resuscitated at the scene and was then transported to Denver Health Medical Center.
"He is in critical condition, but is stable," said Fire Chief Larry Trujillo of the Denver Fire Department. Trujillo said that he and the doctors are optimistic but that Green still has not regained consciousness.
Trujillo said he doesn't know exactly why Green collapsed but that there may have been problems with his mask.
"The regulator was not in place like it should have been and we're not sure if that might have attributed to this," Trujillo said. Trujillo suspect Green was overcome with smoke inhalation.
Trujillo said that firefighters encountered abnormally heavy smoke when they arrived to the one-story home at 501 South High Street.
"This was one of the hotter and smokier fires that we've battled," said Trujillo.
Firefighters were called to the home at about 11:15 a.m. for a basement fire. Green was part of the first crew that went into the home to look for flames. He handed the nozzle to the officer who was with him and when that officer walked toward the basement stairs and turned around, he didn't see Green.
When a second crew performing backup ventilation went into the smoky home, a firefighter tripped over Green. He was face-down on the first floor of the home, several steps behind his partner, in the kitchen.
"Initially, I don't think the firefighters thought anything was wrong. When he didn't move forward, they pushed him ... and that is when they realized that something was seriously wrong and they were able to pull him from the building," said Denver Fire Department spokesman Phil Champagne.
It's not known exactly how long Green was unconscious.
Green's wife was rushed to Denver Health Medical Center to be with her husband. The Denver fire chief and Denver police chief also rushed to the hospital to check on his condition.
"This is just not good for anybody when you have one of your own go down, and this is even tougher because we don't have any reason to why yet," Trujillo said.
Green has been with the department for 10 years and works with Engine 21.
Trujillo said that the injured firefighter was healthy and in good shape.
"He's in great physical condition .... He's just one of those hard workers who just comes to work everyday and gives 110 percent physically and mentally, so that's definitely not a part of the equation. The guy is a perfect specimen. He runs stairs, exercises daily, just in perfect condition, great all-around firefighter for us," Trujillo said.
"We take this very seriously -- and it could happen to anyone at anytime, and that's in the back of our minds. We realize that. And even though it's a bread-and-butter fire -- something that we do day-in and day-out -- it just takes that one time," Champagne said.
A woman who was in the home at the time of the fire was rescued by a Good Samaritan who was driving by and saw smoke billowing from the residence.
"She had been alseep and the heavy smoke woke her up. So she's very lucky to get out," said Good Samaritan Carol Singer.
The homeowner wanted to go back inside the burning home to save her cat, but bystanders held her back.
"Don't go back in. It was just not safe at all. You couldn't see anything. There was a smell, kind of an electrical smoke," Singer said.
The woman's cat died in the fire.
After firefighters arrived, the blaze was quickly brought under control. The damage to the home is extensive but it's not considered a total loss. Investigators said that the fire was not a result of arson and are looking at two possible causes.
"A basement fire is the worst type of fire because there's no way to ventilate it," Trujillo said.
Trujillo said it's been several years since a Denver firefighter was seriously hurt while on the job.
According to the United States Fire Administration, a division of the Dept. of Homeland Security, there were 106 firefighter fatalities in 2005 in the United States and 35 fatalities so far in 2006.
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