A 30-year veteran of the Pleasanton-Livermore Fire Department was in serious but stable condition at Stanford Medical Center after falling 20 to 25 feet onto a concrete floor while battling a two-alarm fire in a Pleasanton garbage transfer facility Monday morning, according to a fire department spokesman.
Capt. Scott Walsh fell into an empty garbage pit at the Pleasanton Garbage Service at 3110 Busch Road about 1:45 a.m., some 40 minutes after crews responded to the fire, Division Chief Barry Rose said.
Walsh suffered broken bones and suspected internal injuries and is currently conscious but sedated, Rose said.
A CalStar air ambulance flew him to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he was stabilized, before he was transported to Stanford, Rose said.
The heavy smoke and other fire conditions in the building meant he was not immediately visible after he fell and it took firefighters around 20 minutes to rescue him, according to Rose.
Rose said the fire spread through a 60-foot-long, 20-foot-wide pile of garbage that was between eight and 10 feet deep and that threatened heavy equipment and the structure itself. It was contained at 3:30 a.m.
Total damage to the facility, including equipment and electrical systems, was estimated at about $20,000.
Firefighters were able to prevent damage to several pieces of heavy equipment and two cranes, Rose said.
Walsh will retire from the fire department in December. His retirement was planned ahead and was unrelated to Monday's incident, Capt. Doug Croll said.
The Pleasanton Garbage Service facility at Busch Road collects and sorts garbage from businesses and homes throughout Pleasanton and is up and running again today, Rose said.
A spokeswoman for the garbage service said she had no comment on the fire.
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