PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Five firefighters are in the hospital after sustaining injuries following a fire in Portsmouth on March 2, officials said.
Around 6:45 p.m., Portsmouth Emergency Communications were notified of residential structure in the 4800 block of Augustine Circle in the Churchland section.
Crews arrived to find a single-story dwelling with a fire in the kitchen. An interior attack was initiated by crews, but due to rapidly changing conditions the firefighters were forced to exit the structure in an emergent manner.
This resulted in injuries to five firefighters all of whom were transported to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries.
One neighbor declined to show her face or reveal her name, but told 10 On Your Side what she saw was shocking.
“I’m just watching just to make sure it’s not coming closer to our house, and I see three firefighters go flying out a window because one of the firefighters — their helmet came off during the fire, so they inhaled a lot of smoke,” she said.
The fire was brought under control around 7:20 p.m. One person was displaced and is being assisted by the Red Cross.
The neighbor said the homeowner wasn’t able to salvage much from the ashes.
“I didn’t get to talk to her too much because she did inhale some smoke, so they had to check her out herself,” the neighbor said.
She said how she felt as she watched everything unfold.
“Terrifying, because they’re, you know, they’re there to protect everyone and they’re over there getting harmed,” the neighbor said. “You know, things do happen and I pray for those firefighters and hope they’re OK.”
The fire is under investigation at this time.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.