Tucson Firefighters responded to a fire in the 200 block of East Ft. Lowell that sent one person to the hospital due to smoke inhalation and burns to the face. Firefighters were able to rescue two dogs that were trapped inside.
A single call was made to 9-1-1 from the resident stating that gasoline had started a fire. Initial crews from TFD arrived to find smoke and flames coming from the kitchen area of the apartment. The first crew pulled hose lines to the front door when the resident met them there. He told firefighters that his dogs were still inside.
Multiple crews entered the residence to extinguish the flames and find the dogs. The dogs were found in a room of the apartment and quickly taken outside. They were then taken across the street to a veterinary office who volunteered to help them.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire that had consumed the entire kitchen area of the apartment. The resident, a male in his 60’s, was assessed on scene by paramedics and transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons due to smoke inhalation and singeing of his facial hair. Nine units and twenty-three firefighters responded to the scene and controlled the fire twelve minutes after arriving.
Fire investigators were able to determine that the resident was storing gasoline cans inside the apartment. One can was leaking and when the resident turned on the stove for heating purposes, the gasoline vapors ignited, causing the burns to him and starting the kitchen on fire.