ORANGE MOUND, Tenn. — A Memphis firefighter experienced first hand the dangers of the job after getting tangled in debris and falling while fighting an apartment fire.
The unidentified firefighter was among fifty fire and emergency personnel working a fire at the Kimball Cabana Apartments on Kimball near Lamar.
Though his injuries were not life threatening, the incident pointed out risks firefighters take everyday.
Early Wednesday, there was a sea of red lights and an army of firefighters at the Kimball Cabana Apartments.
A suspicious fire burned several vacant apartments causing an unexpected “wake up call” for Rodney Watson.
“I was asleep about two o’clock, two thirty and I heard the firetrucks and everything. I looked out the window and all I saw was firetrucks and police officers,” he told WREG.
It took less than thirty minutes to bring the fire under control, but not before it gave one firefighter the scare of his life.
“One of our firefighters was injured, sustained an injury to his knee. There was some debris in the structure that he became somewhat entangled in. And that caused the injury,” said Lt. Wayne Cooke, PIO, Memphis Fire Department.
Lt. Cooke said firefighters were trained to work in dark, smokey and unfamiliar surroundings, where each and every step was risky.
Firefighters found hidden hazards in Wednesday morning’s fire and alerted other firefighters to the danger.
“It was reported by firefighters who gained entry into the second floor area that there were floors that were deteriorating and holes in the in those floors,” he said.
Watson said he was just glad to know the firefighter would be okay, but he was more than a little concerned for his own safety early Wednesday morning.
“I live right there where the fire was at. The fire was in the last one, I live on the other side. They said someone went in there and set the fire, I don’t know what happened though,” said Watson.
While investigators looked for clues to who started the fire, Watson told us he believed the vacant apartments were too much of temptation for arsonists and thieves.
“Folks just come in and break in and steal all the appliances and stuff out of them, water heaters and all that stuff,” he said.
If you can help find the person or persons responsible, you are urged to call Crime Stoppers at 528-CASH or the State Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017.