‘I was just burning,' Pineville, NC, Firefighter Recalls His Mayday

Pineville Firefighter Aaron Ullman credits his training and gear for saving his life during a flashover at a house fire last weekend.

He and his crew encountered heavy smoke as they approached the house in Indian Land, SC, and decided to make an interior attack.

“When the smoke is black, like the somke we encountered, and it’s super thick smoke, you can’t even see your hand in front of your face," Ullman told WSOC.

In the attic, and Ullman was pulling the ceiling to access the fire.

“Before I could even turn my head, I saw a little bit of glow and then everything flashed. So spontaneous combustion. It was combusted real quick and resulted in the nozzle fireman going down the stairs against his will.”

With his turnout gear on fire, he searched for the stairs to get escape.

“So I’m trying to find my way and I’m coming to a block, which I think is either partial collapse from the ceiling or I didn’t know what it was. But I can feel I’m blocked down here but I have availability up here. There’s open space. So I was just burning. I got to get out. So anywhere is better than where I was so I’m just going to jump over this.”

After falling about 15 feet to the main floor, he scrambled toward the light.

“I’m just grateful to be here and thankful for the training and good quality gear that Pineville provides for me."

He and two other firefighters were released after being treated for injuries.