Two firefighters battling a blaze Monday morning at a small apartment complex were injured when they fell through a burned-out hole in the floor, fire officials said.
The Dennis Fire Department says it was called to a structure fire at 475 Route 28 in West Dennis around 10:14 a.m. and found smoke showing from one unit in the four-unit complex.
One firefighter fell upon entering the home, the fire department said, and a mayday was called. Other firefighters were able to pry open a rear bulkhead door that led to the basement, allowing the injured firefighter to be helped out.
Moments later, a second firefighter slipped in the hole but got tangled up in some wires, which prevented them from going into the basement.
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
One of the firefighters was taken to Cape Cod Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while the other was evaluated on scene.
"We didn't realize it was that bad at first, but luckily he wasn't badly hurt," said Paula Kenyon, who owns the apartments with her husband.
No one was home at the time of the fire, as the person who lives there had not yet returned from working an overnight shift, fire officials said.
Local
Kenyon told NBC10 Boston that the woman who lives in the unit works overnight as a nurse and that she lost everything in the fire.
"Scary, I feel terrible for the lady," Kenyon said. "We put her up in another place we have, but she lost everything. It's totally damaged."
"Thank god there's no loss of life, and she didn't have any animals so that's a good thing," Kenyon added.
The state fire marshal's office was on scene to investigate. The cause of the fire is undetermined, but fire officials say all indicators point toward an electrical problem in the hallway wall. The blaze is not considered to be suspicious.
The Dennis Fire Department was assisted on scene by Yarmouth, Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Hyannis and Orleans.
