While fighting a house fire on Shiloh Drive on Sunday, Quint 16 Captain Brian Alexander had to escape through a front window when “the room suddenly flashed and flames engulfed the room.”
PETER MATTHEWS Fort Worth Fire Department
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By Amy McDaniel
The Fort Worth Fire Department said it has responded to several fires related to this week’s extremely cold weather conditions, including one where a fire captain made a narrow escape from a burning house.
Firefighters were dispatched to a house fire in the 5600 block of Shiloh Drive about 11:45 p.m. Sunday. Station 16 found heavy smoke showing from the one-story house and made an interior attack.
While crews were working inside, Quint 16 Captain Brian Alexander had to escape through a front window when “the room suddenly flashed and flames engulfed the room,” the fire department said in a Facebook post.
Seeing the conditions deteriorate, Engine 30 Captain Larry Young grabbed a hoseline and began knocking down the flames from the outside so that Alexander could escape.
Alexander went back to work immediately, and crews had the fire under control in 30 minutes, the department said. There were no injuries, and the cause of the blaze was under investigation.
The fire happened as snow began falling and temperatures hovered around 10 degrees.
The fire department said it responded to 25 calls for service for carbon monoxide and 24 calls for structure fires on Sunday. Firefighters gave a reminder that alternative heating methods, including fireplaces and space heaters, require extra safety measures to ensure you’re using them properly.