NH Firefighter Suffers Cardiac Arrest During House Blaze

A veteran New Hampshire firefighter went into cardiac arrest while battling a residential blaze Monday.

Manchester crews responded to a fire shortly after 10:30 a.m. at a house on South Beech Street, WBZ-TV reports. Once at the scene, firefighters located the blaze in the home's kitchen, Chief Daniel Goonan said.

While working to put out the flames, a 52-year-old firefighter suffered a "medical event," the department said in an online update. He then was taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest in serious but stable condition.

“If we didn’t see him for just a few minutes, the outcome would have been much different,” Goonan told WBZ.

The name of the firefighter was not released, but he had been with the department for 23 years and Goonan said he was "well-liked." 

"Pretty traumatic for the guys, of course. It hits home,” the chief told WBZ. 

No one was in the house at the time, and crews were able to quickly put out the blaze.