Former Chico Firefighter Injured In Fire

This [edited version] came through the pipelines from one of the engineers with City of Chico Fire Department (hence the reference to "I" at the end).

Former City of Chico Firefighter, and current Sacramento City Truck Captain Jeff Helvin responded to a two story residential structure fire this afternoon.  Upon arrival there were no visible flames, but heavy black smoke was coming from the upstairs rear windows.

Captain Helvin and his crew advanced a line to the second story and performed a search.  The conditions upstairs were very hot and smokey with little visibility, but no fire.  Jeff  broke out three windows in an attempt to get some horizontal ventilation.  Conditions worsened and Jeff ordered his crew to evacuate.  Just as he gave the order their hose line burst.

Captain Helvin put out a Mayday as his crew got log jammed on the stairwell.  His crew got out, but Jeff was still trapped on the stairwell.

Jeff stated that he was burning up and there was no way for him to get past the crew that was blocking the stairwell.   He went upstairs to bail out the windows he had earlier broken out, but the conditions had worsened and he had zero visibility.  Jeff was almost out of air, and said that "By the grace of God I stumbled across my hose line"

His low air alarm had been going off for some time, and Jeff knew he was close to being out of air.  He followed his hose line to the stairs and saw what he thought was the front door and sprinted towards it.  It turned out to be a closed sliding glass door.  Jeff smashed through the sliding glass door into the yard, and with his momentum smashed through the backyard fence as well.  He landed in the neighbors yard.

Jeff was transported to UC Davis hospital with 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his left hand, 2nd degree burns to his right hand, 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his neck and 1st degree burns over his entire body.

Jeff is in a lot of pain, and is pretty upset, but the Captain I talked to said all things considered his spirits are pretty good.

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Please keep Jeff and his crew (according to the reports we heard last night, several were taken to UC Davis as well, treated and released ... except for Jeff) in your thoughts and prayers. 

It's this kind of report that makes me nervous when I hear a call go out that my husband is on.  Right on down to the low air alarm going off "for quite some time."

Brothers and sisters, your loved ones are far more precious than being a badass and turning off your low air alarms.  Thankfully Helvin had one on.