BROCKTON — A Brockton firefighter was injured when he fell through the stairs and into the basement of a house while battling a blaze Tuesday evening, officials said.
The Brockton Fire Department responded to 69 Tilton Ave. about 7:40 p.m. for a report of a fire.
“Upon arrival, the companies found heavy fire in the front hallway,” Fire Chief Brian Nardelli said. “They started making their way up into the second floor, knocking down heavy fire, opening up walls.”
There was extensive fire in the hallway, Nardelli said.
“At that time, one of our members fell through the floor going into the second floor and ended up in the basement,” he said.
The firefighter, who wasn’t identified, was able to get out of the basement on his own and was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton.
The firefighter suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Nardelli said.
The fire chief said he saw the firefighter at the hospital on Tuesday night and he wanted to get back to the scene to help crews finishing up.
“He is doing well,” Nardelli said. “He is laughing, he is joking.”
The chief said he was at Brockton City Hall attending a city council meeting when he heard about the mayday call at the fire scene.
“It’s scary,” Nardelli said. “… Trust me, my heart rate goes up a little bit myself. This is not a job for the faint of heart by any means. This is a job where these guys were at the firehouse just a couple minutes ago and they’re out here, now, trying to save someone’s life and property and one of their own members goes through the floor. It is heart-pounding to say the least.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Enterprise senior reporter Cody Shepard can be reached by email at cshepard@enterprisenews.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @cshepard_ENT. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.