Fla. Firefighters Rescue Two, Resuscitate Three

Sept. 02--Four people were taken to the hospital early Sunday morning -- three in critical condition -- following a fire at their home at 320 Wheeler Place.

Three of the people -- including one who was critically burned -- had to be resuscitated at the scene, according to Capt. Gary Kruschke of the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department.

The fire was called in from a neighboring house at 3:30 a.m.

When the first Fort Walton Beach Fire Department truck arrived, firefighters found two people lying on the front lawn. They were told others were still inside.

The fire was largely extinguished but heavy smoke filled the house.

No one outside could tell them exactly where the victims might be inside the house. Firefighters broke the windows and located the two victims, who were lying on the floor in the bedrooms.

"They got those people out of the house and intubated and breathing," Krushke said, adding that three of his crew's firefighters are also paramedics. "They can go in and make a rescue then come out and take their masks off, open up airways and restart hearts.

"I've got some incredibly talented paramedics, firefighters" he added. "We just hope that everybody comes out of this good."

Neighbor Gerald Roper said he was awakened by the sound of firefighters breaking out the windows of the smoke-filled house. He said that Laura and Rick Jones lived there, along with Laura's adult son Steven Mink and his girlfriend, whose name Gerald didn't know.

Steven, a frequent visitor to the Ropers' home during his childhood, came to see Gerald and his wife Barbara later on Sunday. He was the only one not critically injured in the fire, though he did suffer smoke inhalation.

He told them that he'd gone to a neighbor's house to get a fire extinguisher and tried to put the fire out himself, before asking the neighbor to call for help.

Krushke said he found a hose running into the house through the back door.

Steven told the Ropers that his stepfather, Rick Jones, was critically burned but managed to get out of the house on his own, along with Steven.

Steven's mother and girlfriend were rescued by firefighters, Steven told the Ropers. There were at least two dogs in the house, one of whom did not survive.

Sunday afternoon, yellow police tape circled the yard. The front door stood open and windows were broken, but little other damage could be seen from the street. The back of the house, visible from the Ropers' yard, revealed a charred black hole leading into the living room.

Units from Fort Walton Beach, Ocean City, Mary Esther and Okaloosa Island, along with Emergency Medical Services helped at the scene.

Krushke said he did not see any working smoke detectors in the house, adding that smoke detectors could have made such a difference.

"It pains me to walk in there and not hear any sounds from a smoke detector going off," he said.

The State Fire Marshal has been called in to determine the cause of the fire.

Copyright 2012 - Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach