Fire dispatchers were initially given the wrong address. A witness who called in the fire said that the burning house was near Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Franklin Street. Instead, it was located at MLK and Neches Street, about six blocks away.

Beaumont firefighters eventually arrived at the house at 2180 Neches at about 8:50 a.m. and performed a rescue operation because there were was a van in the driveway, and someone was still possibly inside, said Jeff McNeel, Beaumont fire and rescue district chief. No one was inside after a search of the home, so a three-man suppression crew, which included Shroeder, began to attack the fire at the rear of the house.

Two other firefighters were near the front of the house when a flashover occurred on the ground floor, sending fire rolling onto the ceiling, and blasting out the front of the living room windows, fully igniting the area. Once the flashover hit, everyone scrambled to get out, including Capt. Calvin Carrier, 44, who jumped out a side window, but needed help removing the burglar bars that were blocking the window. Schroeder, who was surrounded by fire and smoke, was still stuck inside when the rescue crew of Capt. Billy Ware, Jeff Julian and Pete Johnson charged inside the home and rescued him. Schroeder's protective gear had been badly melted. Both Schroeder and Carrier had to be taken by helicopter to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

McNeel said Schroeder is in stable condition and is undergoing surgery this morning while Carrier, who received second degree burns to his head, is expected to be released today. Four other firefighters, including Johnson, went to local hospitals for burn injuries or injuries sustained while fighting the fire. All four were checked and released, McNeel said. The fire, which started as the result of an electrical heater sitting too close to a mattress, was finally extinguished later in the morning.

Please keep these firefighters in your thoughts and prayers. They are still injured, recovering, and dealing with this incident.