What started as a standard late-afternoon house fire call in Medina Township turned scary in seconds on Tuesday, when a drywall ceiling crashed down and briefly trapped a firefighter at the bottom of a stairway. Crews had gone inside to search for anyone still in the home and to chase flames that had spread from the garage into the attic. The firefighter was quickly pulled free, checked at a hospital, and is now home recovering.
The Medina Fire Department was dispatched about 4:52 p.m. to a home on Maggie Marie Boulevard in Medina Township, where firefighters found a garage fire that had extended into the attic and interior of the house, according to WOIO. Crews initially hit the flames from outside, then moved inside the structure to search for occupants and extinguish hot spots and hidden fire.
Ceiling collapse and rescue
While firefighters worked inside the home, a large section of the second-floor drywall ceiling suddenly gave way and came down on a firefighter, briefly pinning him at the bottom of a stairway, Cleveland.com reports. A Brunswick Hills firefighter immediately issued a Mayday over the radio, and crews moved in fast to free the trapped firefighter and get him to a waiting ambulance.
Injuries and mutual aid
The firefighter was taken to Medina Hospital, evaluated, and released later Tuesday evening, and the department says he is home and doing well, per WOIO. One resident of the home was also transported with minor burn injuries and later released. The Medina Fire Department thanked mutual aid partners, including the Brunswick Division of Fire, Brunswick Hills firefighters, the Medina Township Police Department, Medina LST, and the American Red Cross.
Mayday calls are reserved for life-threatening situations involving firefighters and immediately clear the airwaves for priority radio traffic and rapid-intervention efforts, according to a U.S. Fire Administration training report that outlines standard Mayday procedures and the role of Rapid Intervention Teams. The protocol is designed to get rescuers to a lost, injured, or trapped firefighter as quickly and safely as possible.
The department has not yet released a cause for the garage fire, and investigators remain involved at the scene, Cleveland.com notes.
