Fire officials report two firefighters injured in a northeast apartment fire, with one suffering leg, face, and chest injuries.
SAN ANTONIO — Two firefighters were injured while battling an apartment fire on the northeast side Thursday afternoon, fire officials said.
The fire started in a vacant building in the 200 block of Rainbow Drive around 1:42 p.m.
Officials said while the crews were fighting the fire, the apartment’s stairwell collapsed and one firefighter fell and injured his leg. A second firefighter suffered burn injuries to the chest and a blunt force injury to the face.
Both firefighters were taken to the hospital in stable condition and are expected to be ok.
It took about 20 minutes to get the fire completely knocked out. Two vacant apartments were damaged in the fire. Residents in nearby buildings were not affected by the fire.
Investigators are looking into the cause of the fire.
Fire officials said the heat wave hitting this week put the department on higher alert than usual.
“When we have a working fire, we accentuate our response. We are at a Level Two heat index for us. The heat/humidity combination…will accentuate our response,” said Joe Arrington of SAFD. “So a normal apartment fire is four engines, two ladders, but right now, we are going to be at a five/three, five engines, two ladders.”
Arrington also said the department focuses on firefighter safety during these times.
“We lengthen our rehabilitation process, so get them in the shade, get them cooled down, get their gear off , medically evaluated, checking blood pressure, pulse…those kinds of things,” Arrington said.
The firefighters are provided with cooling towels and plenty of water during the heat and humidity.