NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A Norfolk firefighter fell through the second floor of a home while battling a fire on White Chapel Road Wednesday morning, officials confirmed to WAVY. He is going to be OK and actually continued fighting the fire after the fall.
Norfolk Fire-Rescue said a second firefighter was injured assisting the firefighter who fell. He has a minor injury as a result.
Chopper 10 flew over the house and caught footage of the damage.
Firefighters responded to the residential fire in the 3500 block of White Chapel Road just before 9 a.m.
Crews had to exit the burning home because the fire was spreading quickly, and they switched to a defensive attack.
Fire officials said all residents have been accounted for and there are no injuries reported. Two adults and two children live at the home.
Anthony Savage was the only person inside the home when the fire started. Thanks to working smoke detectors, he was quickly able to get his pets and himself outside.
Savage and his fiancée, along with their 12-year-old son, 18-month-old daughter and pets — will need to find a new home. They are already getting a lot of help from friends, family and neighbors.
“We have the best neighbors,” Savage said. “They’ve been here since we’ve been here. Everyone’s come to make sure we’re doing ok, doing fine. That’s all you can really hope for.”
It is a home his fiancée had for 15 years. They are sad to see fire destroy it, but are grateful the family is safe.
“Rebuilding stuff, we did a lot of stuff in the backyard, that’s the hardest part is that everything we did is gone,” Savage said. “But we still got each other, so we’ll be alright. We’ll be good.”
Firefighters remained on scene for hours checking for hot spots and investigating what sparked the fire.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.