A falling air conditioner knocked a firefighter unconscious when it fell out of a window and hit him in the head while he battled a fire in Brooklyn on Monday.
“The shocking incident took place outside a home in Bensonhurst and sent the smoke eater from Ladder 172 to the hospital where he was in serious condition,” New York City Fire Department (FDNY) sources told the New York Post.
He was among 106 members of the agency fighting the two-alarm blaze that occurred just before 9:00 a.m. at a home on 85th Street near 20th Avenue.
Video footage of the incident shows the firefighter walking down the two-story home’s driveway when the unit falls and knocks him in the head:
Once he collapses on the ground, another firefighter shouts, “Medic!” as several others rush over and surround the injured man.
The firefighter was transported to Lutheran Hospital for medical treatment, sources told the Post.
“The FDNY said five other firefighters suffered minor injuries while extinguishing the two-alarm blaze,” the article continued.
It was unclear if the air conditioner was thrown or fell due to an accident and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) did not receive any complaint reports, law enforcement officials told the New York Daily News.
“All details of the incident and the fire are under investigation,” an FDNY spokesman stated.
On Sunday, two deputies and one firefighter were injured while working to evacuate people from an apartment fire in Harris County, Texas.
“It began when a car caught fire, and the flames spread to the apartment units, according to authorities on the scene,” ABC 13 reported:
Deputies with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office were assisting in alerting residents to the fire and getting them to safety when two of them were overcome with smoke, authorities said. They were taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation. A firefighter on the scene also injured his knee during the response. Authorities on the scene told ABC13 that all were alert and were expected to make a full recovery.
“These guys were going door-to-door knocking and making sure all the residents got out,” Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office spokesperson Rachel Neutzler explained.
“So they’re true heroes tonight and saved countless lives,” she concluded.
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