Firefighters battling heavy flames and thick black smoke pulled a man, a dog and a cat out of a burning home on Kinsale Avenue in Murfreesboro on Thursday evening. Crews had to rely on a thermal imaging camera to find the man after learning he was trapped on the second floor of the house, cutting through smoke so dense it limited visibility inside.
Crews Battled Flames and Smoke Before Finding Trapped Resident
Accounts of the exact response time differ slightly: according to Rutherford Source, the Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department responded around 7:40 p.m., while WKRN reported crews arrived at the 1700 block of Kinsale Avenue shortly before 7:45 p.m. the same night. Either way, units reportedly encountered heavy flames outside the home as well as low visibility inside due to thick, dark smoke, per WKRN's account. As firefighters pushed into the low-visibility building, they learned that a man remained trapped on the second floor.
Using a thermal imaging camera, crews located the man and brought him to safety, the station's report notes. First responders also saved a dog and a cat from the residence before turning their attention fully back to the fire itself. Personnel then quickly extinguished the blaze, according to the same account.
Man Taken to Hospital, No Other Injuries Reported
The rescued man received medical attention at the scene before being transported to Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford for further evaluation, though there was no word on his current condition, per the WKRN report. No other injuries were reported, Rutherford Source noted in its coverage of the rescue. The fire's cause remains under investigation by the Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department's Fire Marshal's Office, according to WKRN.
WSMV also covered the rescue, reporting that Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department crews extinguished the fire quickly once the man and his two pets were out of the building.
Another Murfreesboro Fire Highlights Ongoing Risk
The Kinsale Avenue fire comes amid other recent house fire responses in the city. Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department crews also responded to an overnight house fire on Roscommon Drive, where FOX 17 reported that emergency personnel found heavy fire on the exterior of the home that had extended into the attic. In that incident, residents, including small children, had safely evacuated before crews arrived, and no injuries were reported. As with the Kinsale Avenue blaze, the cause of the Roscommon Drive fire remains under investigation.
