WDIV
Reprinted with Permission

LATHRUP VILLAGE, Mich. - A Southfield firefighter escaped a burning house without injury Thursday morning after he fell through the house's floor to the basement.


Firefighter Curtis Nelson fell 10 feet into the basement of the house after the main floor gave out, and he landed on his feet.

"There was a report that somebody might be inside, so being aggressive, we went in," Nelson said.

Nelson said he did not stop battling the blaze after he fell.

"It just felt like it was going on and on," Nelson said about the fall. "There was some fire down there so I started hitting the fire."

One of the first responders is a Detroit firefighter, Reginald Johnson, who was on his way home from work.

"Got here and it was just full of flames," Johnson said.

Southfield Fire Chief Peter Healy said he heard the distress calls on the radio on his way to the blaze.

"To hear a mayday over the radio that a firefighter has been lost in a fire is extremely disconcerting," Healy said.

Firefighters said they pulled Nelson out by his hands. He was brought out of the house without a scratch.

"He walked out, and that doesn't happen very often," Johnson said.

Nelson is a 16-year veteran firefighter. He has spent 11 years with the Southfield Fire Department and five years with the Detroit Fire Department.

"You kind of reflect on it a little bit afterward," Nelson said. "But when you're actually going through and doing the job, it's a little bit different."

There was no one in the burning house, firefighters said.


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