1 dead, 1 hurt in house fire
Rescuers struggle to get inside, pull man to safety
One person was killed and another left seriously injured late Friday after a house fire in southwest Houston, authorities said.
Houston Fire Department crews had difficulty making their way inside the home in the 9400 block of Greenwillow near South Loop West because of a “hoarder-type situation,” authorities said. Crews had to physically remove the front door to get inside.
“There were objects stacked above the door,” HFD Senior Fire Capt. Ruy Lozano said.
Working on their hands and knees in thick clouds of smoke, HFD crews made their way along trails cutting through debris inside the home.
They spotted a man on the floor in the front part of the home. He was still breathing when firefighters pulled him to safety, Lozano said.
HFD paramedics used a “cynokit” on the man. Authorities said it is an injection that quickly flushes poisonous cyanide from someone’s system.
“Whenwe give these kits, there is a high rate of survival from smoke inhalation,” Lozano said.
The man who was rescued was in critical condition at the hospital, officials said.
Other HFD search teams discovered a body, which authorities couldn’t determine whether it was a man or woman, near the back door.
“The burns are very severe,” Lozano said.
Heavy amounts of debris scattered throughout the home made it more difficult for the firefighters, officials said.
“You just never know what’s in there. It certainly makes the potential for the fire to grow quickly,” Lozano said.
The blaze that started around 7:45 p.m. was brought under control in about an hour.