Five Prince George's County firefighters were injured and one had a close call while rescuing a resident from a two-alarm apartment fire Thursday night.
Crews responded to the garden style complex at 3317 Huntley Square Drive in Temple Hills around 10 p.m. to find a terrace level unit on fire, according to a department news release.
As a team of firefighters initiated an attack with hose lines, intense smoke flames filled the stairwell they occupied and blocked the exit for other firefighters on the upper floors.
Four of the firefighters in the stairwell sustained minor burns and were taken to the Burn Unit at Medstar Washington Hospital Center where they were treated and released.
The crew regrouped as the firefighters trapped above were forced to shelter-in place with four civilians they had located.
One of those firefighters was with a burned woman who was in the unit directly above the one where the fire originated.
Unable to make it down the stairwell, the firefighter radioed his position to incident commanders and requested help before removing his face piece and placing it on the woman to help her breathe.
Moments later, he reported that his air was running low right before fellow firefighter arrived to help him and the woman out of the burning structure.
The woman, who sustained burns to her lower body, was transported to a local hospital and admitted to the Burn Unit and is expected to fully recover.
The firefighter was hospitalized and was treated for heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation.
He was released Friday morning.
The three other residents from the upper floors were rescued by firefighters who found them and were uninjured.
The fire was extinguished within about 20 minutes.
Damages were estimated at $25,000 and fire investigators determined the cause of the fire as accidental attributed to unattended cooking.
