Though his leg and back injuries are extensive, doctors expect Tony Carroll to fully recover and return to work, said Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Chief Ricky Arrington.
Carroll, a Washington, D.C., Fire Department lieutenant and assistant chief at the OWL Volunteer Fire Department, fell 30 feet into an elevator shaft in an explosion at a fire Tuesday in southeast Washington, D.C.
"He's still at Washington Hospital Center," Arrington said. "They're still doing tests. He's resting."
A toddler was killed and 20 were injured in the natural gas explosion and fire at the 11-story Marbury Plaza, an apartment building in the 2300 block of Good Hope Road.
The fire displaced 100 people, Etter said.
Witnesses at the Marbury said the explosion rocked the building.
The explosion in a second-floor laundry room knocked Carroll into the elevator shaft where he fell to the basement, said Alan Etter, D.C. fire department spokesman.
"We can confirm that there was a tremendous explosion in the building," Etter said. "It caused $1? million worth of damage."
There was no word when Carroll could return to work, but he's in good hands. District firefighters are well covered for injury, Arrington said.
"Those guys up in D.C. take care of their guys pretty well," he said.
Still, the OWL volunteers will be around to give Carroll help and support during and after his hospital stay.
"We're just standing by right now to see what he needs," Arrington said."When we decide what he needs, we'll rally the troops around."
The possibility of injury or death is a prospect every firefighter faces daily, Arrington said.
"It's one of the more dangerous jobs in the world," he said.
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