A Connecticut firefighter suffered second-degree burns to his face while fighting a house fire Monday morning. A husband and wife were able to escape the burning home, avoiding the flames and toxic smoke, the Fairfield Fire Department said.
A teenage girl called the fire department around 7:56 a.m. Monday after she heard her neighbors screaming from a second-floor window. Once at the scene, firefighters began extinguishing flames on the first floor of the house.
“Unfortunately, this is now the third fire where residents were trapped on the second floor in recent history,” Assistant Chief Erik Kalapir said in a statement. Similar incidents last year — in September and on Christmas night — also forced residents to jump from second-floor windows.
“Fires are burning hotter and faster due to modern day residential furnishing, and residents have limited time to get out," he added. "Early response times by firefighting forces are essential, and families need to practice emergency exit fire drills in the home.”
While searching the second floor, a firefighter sustained second-degree burns on his face, the fire department said. He was treated and released by the Bridgeport Hospital Burn Unit.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
