Firefighters Show Off Burned Equipment After Rescue
DENVER (CBS4)- Firefighters in Denver showed off how valuable their equipment is one week after a man was rescued from a burning apartment building.
The flames shot from the apartment building at 1515 Grant Street on March 15 as firefighters rushed to rescue a man from inside.
"The velocity and the volume of fire that came out of that building that day, put an excess of probably 1,000 degrees more temperature on the surface of our firefighting gear," said Denver Fire Department Asst. Chief CJ Haberkorn.
Haberkorn said when it was safe to do so, the remaining two firefighters climbed down from the ladder.
"When he gets off the ladder you'll see what appears to be flames coming off his back," said Haberkorn.
Firefighters say it was one of the fastest growing fires they had ever seen going from light smoke to flames about 30 feet high in a matter of two minutes.
"I've never seen a fire move this fast, this quick and grow to that level," said Haberkorn.
Three firefighters were injured but all are expected to recover. The equipment they were wearing, their helmets in particular, are credited with protecting them.
The victim was not hurt. Two of the injured firefighters are back to work. The third firefighter who was injured is expected to return to work full-time in a couple of weeks.
"His eye protection is completely melted and that was the first fire this helmet has ever been in," said Haberkorn.
All the equipment damaged in the fire will be decommissioned.
Fire investigators believe the fire was accidental.
"When you see the fire you think you're going to run away from it. But when you have a report of a party trapped, it kind of makes the adrenaline and endorphins go a little bit harder. We rely on our gear and we really on our training and the person standing next to me to make sure that we can make safe passage to them and they're going to walk through fire," said Haberkorn.
