I don't really have anything to say but here's a near miss from Florida I found on The Watchdesk. http://www.news4jax.com/news/14698619/detail.html Video Released In Blaze That Hurt 2 Firefighters Fi…

I don't really have anything to say but here's a near miss from Florida I found on The Watchdesk.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/14698619/detail.html

Video Released In Blaze That Hurt 2 Firefighters

Firefighter Hurt During Rescue Of Trapped Firefighter

POSTED: 7:40 pm EST November 26, 2007

UPDATED: 7:58 pm EST November 26, 2007

HILLIARD, Fla. -- A massive house fire in Hilliard left two firefighters injured Wednesday after being trapped inside the garage of the burning home.

On Monday, Channel 4 obtained the video recorded from the dashboard camera on the fire chief's car.

The video shows the raging flames the fire crews witnessed as they first arrived at the scene, and then the mayday call can be heard blaring across the radio, signaling a firefighter was in distress.

The garage ceiling of the home burning in the 22000 block of Fortress Lane collapsed on Lt. Patrick Cauley.

A few weeks ago, the Nassau County Fire Department held training on mayday procedures.

"I thought he was going to die," said Lt. Glen Harper. "He was trapped in such a fashion that, literally, 800 pounds were on top of him," said Harper.

He said Cauley also feared it was the end and the two shared very emotional words.

"He stated to me that he was burning and that his arm was on fire, and that he thought he was going to die. He said to me, 'I'm going to die on this floor in this garage, in this house. I'm going to die.' Of course, I reassured him that he wasn’t," Harper said.

Harper and others got Cauley out of the garage by using chainsaws to create a tunnel into the firefighter.

"His foot was trapped. So, we had to pull his foot out of his boot and we physically pulled him up out of the debris and crawled out the way we came in," Harper said.

Cauley was able to survive thanks to his fellow firefighters and also because of his protective gear. He was wearing gloves, but boiling water made its way through the seal and burned his hands.

Harper suffered minor burns to his neck during the incident, but said his injuries were a small price to pay for saving the life of a fellow firefighter.

"He said he was happy I was there and that he was glad to be alive and he never wanted to be trapped again," Harper said. "He's a man a very few words, so for him, that's a lot. He let me know that he appreciated what we had done for him."

Cauley continues to recover from the second- and third-degree burns to his wrists and hands.

http://www.news4jax.com/news/14661105/detail.html

Firefighters Hurt Battling Hilliard Blaze

POSTED: 1:09 pm EST November 21, 2007

UPDATED: 5:40 pm EST November 21, 2007

HILLIARD, Fla. -- Two Nassau County firefighters were injured on Wednesday fighting a house fire near Hilliard.

Channel 4 was told the four firefighters were inside the garage of the burning home in the 22000 block of Fortress Lane when the roof caved in, injuring two of them.

"The roof collapsed, pinning one of the firefighters to the ground," Nassau County Fire Chief Chuck Cooper said.

Lt. Patrick Cauley was flown to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center with burns to his arms and hands. He was treated and released. A second firefighter who rushed in to rescue Cauley was treated at the scene, then returned to the firefighting effort.

"They put a lot of heroic effort into getting that fireman out," Cooper said.

About 30 Nassau County firefighters were used to put out the blaze, and one unit remained at the scene six hours later checking on hot spots.

Jacksonville Fire-Rescue sent three engines to the scene to assist and made six other units available to cover Nassau County fire stations while those firefighters were in Hilliard.

A 9-year-old boy first spotted the fire and got his grandfather out safety, then they called 911.

The house was a total loss. The state fire marshal's office was on the scene investigating the cause of the fire.

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