A firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion after battling a house fire in temperatures near 90 degrees late Monday, firefighters said.
He was taken to OSU Medical Center, where doctors briefly monitored him as a precaution, Tulsa Fire Department spokesman Stan May said. He was expected to be back on duty for his next shift, May said.
An electric fan likely sparked the blaze, which damaged the garage of a house in the 7800 block of South Irvington about 11 p.m., firefighters said. No one else was injured.
The National Weather Service recorded a temperature of 87 degrees at the Tulsa International Airport at the time of the fire.
Firefighters wear about 60 pounds of equipment, including more than 30 pounds of heavily-insulated fire-retardant clothing, May said. That gear can raise a firefighter's temperature dangerously high, even on cooler days, he said.
"The equipment that we use to make sure we don't get burned is heavily insulated, so it also works against you," he said. "Once your core temperature starts going up, there's no way to cool yourself down."
Copyright 2012 - Tulsa World, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
