A firefighter in New Hampshire was rushed to the hospital Monday after going into cardiac arrest while responding to a fire inside a Manchester home.
The Manchester Fire Department was called to 466 South Beech St. around 10:30 a.m. Monday after neighbors called 911 when they saw flames through the kitchen window.
Fire Chief Daniel Goonan says when they arrived, firefighters from Engine 9 raced in.
There was heavy fire and smoke showing from the rear of the house where the kitchen is, according to the chief.
A witness says tons of smoke was pouring out black.
Soon after firefighters entered the home, they realized one firefighter was not responding.
The chief says the firefighters rushed the 52-year-old out of the house and started performing CPR on him.
A witness says the scariest part was watching the firefighters pull their fellow firefighter out.
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"It is pretty traumatic for the guys, of course, there was a, it really hits home. This guy was a very well-liked firefighter," the chief said.
The man, who is a 23-year veteran of the fire department, was rushed to Elliot Hospital where he is in stable but serious condition.
Video from inside the home shows just how much was torched after the closest of calls for one firefighter.
"His life was saved today," said Chief Goonan, who feared the worst when he got the call that one of his firefighters was down inside the Manchester home. "It is amazing walking through a scene like that, if we went in, if we went to search, a left instead of a right, if we didn't see him for a few minutes, the outcome would have been much different."
The fire chief says no one was home at the time of the fire. He says the people who live there have been in the process of moving out.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
