An elderly man was taken to hospital after he was pulled from a burning house by fire crews in the city's southeast on Wednesday morning.
Fire crews were called to a residence in the 2000 block of 45 Street SE at about 8:45 a.m. after a fire broke out in the kitchen.
When crews arrived, thick, black smoke was pouring out of the structure.
A woman who lives in the home was able to get out and flag down a passerby for help to get her husband out of the house.
They tried to rescue the man through a back window but the smoke was too intense.
“We saw Sarah waving from her front step and a bunch of smoke billowing out from behind her so we pulled over, I called 911, my husband jumped out. She then told us her husband was still in the house so my husband tried to get him out,” said Minene Houston
“Myself and her husband, we went around back with a sledge hammer, we smashed the back window and the smoke was just so intense,” said Roxanna Carriere.
Fire crews were able to get the man out and he was taken from the scene by EMS.
“An elderly couple live in this house. One resident was able to evacuate, the other resident was not but was rescued by fire crews,” said Carol Henke, CFD Public Information Officer. “When we know that there is someone inside, that is our priority to save lives then property.”
Officials say the kitchen of the home was heavily damaged by the fire and there is smoke damage throughout the residence.
“So at this point, they’re looking for any extension because fire dies travel up and could go into the attic and we want to ensure that there are no hot spots in there,” said Henke.
Investigators are now working to determine how the fire started and crews remain at the scene to monitor for hot spots.
