I am sure some of you have probably seen this already, but while going back through some of the things on firefighterclosecalls.com it goes to show that it CAN happen here. How many of us have had min. staffing on calls, especially during the day in the first few mins.

DOING MORE WITH LESS? OHIO FIREFIGHTER FALLS THRU FLOOR AT WORKING HOUSE FIRE-AGAIN RAISING THE OPERATIONAL STAFFING ISSUE

Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 1 of 2 Firefighters on the 1st alarm working house fire in East Liverpool (Ohio) Saturday morning was injured after falling through a weakened floor. Once again, in yet another community, the issue of what Firefighters should be expected to do - or directed to do - when there is little staffing.

The fire was reported at 0653 hours and 2 minutes later, the two firefighters on duty at the time, FF's Bill Jones and James Allmon, arrived with a pumper and found fire extending from the roof and smoke filling all the rooms of the dwelling. A second and third alarm was sent out, and the 2 Firefighters started an interior attack on the fire.

They made their way through the front door and into the living area-the fire in the living area had extended to a second-floor bedroom. About eight feet from the home's front door, FF Allmon fell through a fire-weakened floor between some floor joists. FF Allmon was able to get free and help extinguish the fire and was later taken to the hospital as a precaution and released, suffering from bruised ribs. A total of 10 firefighters were at the scene.