Firefighter Hurt, Falls From Ladder Battling Strip Mall Fire
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POMPANO BEACH (CBSMiami) -- A firefighter needed to be rushed to the hospital after falling from a ladder as fire burned a business in Pompano Beach.
Multiple agencies responded to the fire Friday afternoon at a mechanic shop at 319 S.W. 14th Avenue.
One firefighter climbed a ladder to spray the rooftop with a hose and, while adjusting it, the force of water propelled him backward and he fell roughly 20-feet off the ladder.
Jose Nieves, a witness across the street, captured the incident on camera.
"All the firemen went there to help him out. He seemed like he was pretty hurt," said John Luger. "But he was moving around and everything."
Firefighters tried to contain the raging fire that broke out at the car shop. Heavy black smoke and flames broke through the storefront and through the roof.
"He's the boss and he was just doing vacuuming," said an employee. "And the thing just caught on fire."
He said the vacuum cleaner short-circuited and cars caught fire.
"Within a couple minutes, you heard a bunch of explosions," said David Kerry. "And the only thing I can assume the explosions were, were the tires blowing up. And then the flames just kept getting bigger and bigger and the fire trucks started showing up and it started escalating to the roof. And it just kept on growing."
It took nearly two hours to subdue the flames and smoke.
The injured firefighter was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
"He went back and to the side as the ladder went like that, and he fell straight down on the ground," said Sandra King with Pompano Beach Fire Rescue. "So it's unknown right now, we know they're not life-threatening injuries. But we're certainly getting him checked out."