Staff Reports
Columbus firefighters rescued a disabled woman trapped in the back bedroom of a home in the 200 block of South Hinman Street after fire engulfed the residence Thursday afternoon.
Firefighters were sent to 201 S. Hinman St. at about 4:42 p.m. on the report of a bed on fire in the home, with the flames spreading to a nearby wall, said Capt. Mike Wilson, Columbus Fire Department spokesman.
When Engine 3 firefighters arrived, the first on the scene, they learned a male and female occupant of the home were out of the home, but said the disabled woman was unable to leave the back bedroom on her own, Wilson said.
Firefighters immediately went to rescue the woman, who they found in a mechanical lift device used to move bedridden patients, Wilson said. She was unable to free herself from the device, but firefighters quickly moved her out of the home and she was taken to Columbus Regional Hospital, where she was being evaluated for possible transfer by helicopter to a Level 1 trauma center in Indianapolis.
Wilson said the woman did not have visible burns but there was concern about smoke inhalation and possible thermal burns to her airway from being trapped in a high heat, smoke-filled room for a length of time.
After the rescue, firefighters began putting out the fire, which took about 10 minutes before it was under control, Wilson said.
When firefighters arrived, flames and smoke were shooting through a screened-in front porch on the front of the two-bedroom home, eventually causing the front area to collapse, Wilson said.
The home was considered a complete loss with heavy and massive fire, smoke and water damage to the structure, firefighters said.
Two cats inside the home did perish during the fire.
Firefighters did have to be wary of heat-related issues in the near-90 degree temperatures Thursday afternoon, Wilson said. No injuries among the firefighters were reported.
Columbus Fire Department sent four engines, and two rescue vehicles to the scene, along with an ambulance from Columbus Regional Health EMS.
The engines all carry coolers filled with water for the firefighters, and the Columbus Regional Health ambulance also provided water at the scene. The Salvation Army brought sports energy drinks out to the firefighters at the scene.
Firefighters were platooned in and out of the scene in order to get fluids and replace their air tanks, Wilsons said.
Columbus firefighters had just completed a week-long training session on incident command procedures and this fire was the first that the new training was put into practice, Wilson said. He described the response as “textbook” to the training, in particular relating to communication about the rescue and then the fire attack, and said fire department leaders were extremely pleased with how firefighters responded at the scene to the upgraded communication techniques.
The fire department is working with the Salvation Army to help the family find shelter after Thursday’s fire.
