Firefighters Fall Into Basement Battling House Fire In East Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Firefighters battled an early morning house fire in East Baltimore that injured four firefighters and left neighboring families displaced.
Around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, the Wyche family got a wake-up call they weren't expecting.
"We smelled smoke real bad, and the neighbors banged on the door and said, fire, fire, so I got me and my family out." said neighbor Josh Wyche.
When the Baltimore Fire Department responded to the scene in the 1700 block of Cliftview Avenue, crews spotted heavy fire in the back of the vacant two-story home.
Firefighters also tried to tackle the blaze from the front.
"As they were approaching in, it appears that they fell through the floor- all four members fell through the floor into the basement. They were retrieved from the basement by our rapid intervention team." said Chief Roman Clark, with Baltimore City Fire.
All four firefighters were rescued and only suffered minor injuries.
The fire spread to at least two neighboring homes, forcing the Wyche family to evacuate.
'From what they said, bad smoke inhalation, but we don't know yet because we haven't been in." Wyche said.
Neighbors said the home that caught fire had been vacant for some time.
"The front was boarded up for like two years, but the back was open." Wyche said.
As for the Wyche family, they're just hoping to return back home.
"Not going to work today, just trying to see how the day's going to go out, that's all." Wyche said.
There's no word yet on what sparked the fire, but crews are now working to determine the cause.
