UPDATE: Fireground audio & the story behind the Mogadore, Ohio house fire with just two firefighters on scene & two rescued. Interview with firefighters.

Earlier coverage of this story

Many of you saw and commented on the video above from a house fire last Friday in Mogadore, Ohio. In it you see two rescues being made by a pair of firefighters from the Mogadore Fire Department. The two firefighters were operating by themselves for most of the first ten minutes.

There was not a lot of information with the video. Yesterday evening I received this email from Mogadore Fire Chief Don Adams about the two firefighters, Ben Stasik (first firefighter in the building) and Nick Sansom (driver/pump operator/second firefighter):

Dave, I am Chief Don Adams of the Mogadore Fire Department. Your evaluation of the fire of September 23 is dead on. We are a small department that staffs two part time F/Fs 24/7. Many of my guys are full time elsewhere. These guys pulled out to a reported bedroom fire. When the police reported a worker, they called for two engines from the neighbors. Upon learning there were two still inside they requested two med units also. Unfortunately, I chose that day to take half a day off and was well out of the area. The chief of one of the neighboring departments took command upon his arrival which was about the time the second victim was removed. Once he was sure all victims were out he pulled everyone back, established a PAR and then pounded it from the outside for a while.

Victim #1 was about 15 feet inside the front door in near zero visibility. He heard her scream while stretching the line and decided to go for it. She suffered second and third degree burns on both legs, both arms and back. She will remain in the burn unit for two to three weeks. Victim #2 was in the basement. Eventually the father was able to describe the best way to the basement stairs. F/F after darkening down the fire went past it with no line again and found the basement and assisted that victim to safety.

I look at your site daily and was surprised to see us here. I fully understand the frequent complaints regarding unsafe work practices. However for this call, I could not be prouder of my boys.

Thanks for your efforts for running this great site. Take care. Don Adams.

In a later email Chief Adams added:

I forgot to tell you that he heard her scream and after going in she did not respond to his calls. When some of the ceiling came in on both of them, she screamed again and then he was able to locate her. Best to you.