Muskegon Heights firefighters were forced to bail out windows after fire trapped them on the second floor

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — Several firefighters were rescued after becoming trapped while battling a house fire in Muskegon Heights on March 29.

The Muskegon Heights Fire Department responded around 2 a.m. to reports of flames coming from a home in the 2200 block of Sanford, WZZM reported.

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When firefighters arrived, they found fire showing from the second floor of the home and requested mutual aid from the Muskegon Fire Department and Muskegon Township Fire Department.

Firefighters launched an aggressive attack on the fire floor, but conditions quickly worsened, trapping several crew members on the second floor, according to the fire department.

Muskegon Heights firefighters were already inside battling the blaze when Muskegon Engine 23 arrived and was assigned to conduct a primary search of the second floor, according to the department.

The department said firefighters found fire on the first floor as two Engine 23 firefighters continued to the second floor, and a third advanced a second hoseline on the first floor. A suspected flow path event then triggered a rapid fire spread across the first floor and up the stairwell, trapping firefighters on the second floor.

Several firefighters were forced to bail out of a window as conditions rapidly deteriorated. According to the department, ground ladders were in place while the third Engine 23 firefighter knocked down flames on the first floor, allowing all firefighters to escape.

Crews regrouped, contained the fire and confirmed no one was inside the home.

One Muskegon Fire Department firefighter suffered a second-degree burn but was evaluated at the scene and remained on duty.

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