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Firefighter injured in Country Club Hills fire released from hospital after surgery

By ARLnow.com
Fire trucks from Arlington County Fire Department with hoses laid out on a wet street; a firefighter stands nearby holding yellow caution tape.
Emergency scene with a police SUV blocking the street; multiple fire trucks and responders in the background, hoses on the road and trees lining the street, Arlington County police visible.
White brick house with solar panels on the roof, set among green trees and shrubs in a lush front yard.
Two cameramen with tripods and cameras film beside a red-and-silver fire engine in a suburban street.
Firefighters and paramedics stand near ambulances on a street during an emergency scene.
Stop sign at a street corner with a N Vermont St sign visible and emergency vehicles (fire trucks and a police SUV) in the background, indicating an active incident scene.
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The firefighter hurt while battling a three-alarm house fire in Country Club Hills on Sunday is out of the hospital after surgery.

The firefighter suffered a broken femur, had surgery Monday and was discharged on Wednesday, an Arlington County Fire Department spokesperson tells ARLnow. He is recovering at home with his family.

The firefighter was hurt when he fell from the first floor into the basement through an open elevator shaft, said ACFD spokesman Capt. Jamie Jill.

The blaze is being described as “accidental in nature.”

Fire marshals determined that a lightning strike in the area caused the fire, Jill said. The strike — somewhat unexpected during what was otherwise mostly a rainstorm — produced an especially bright flash and loud thunder, local residents noted to ARLnow at the time.

Firefighters were called to the house just after 1 p.m. Sunday, amid heavy rain and found heavy smoke coming from a home set well back from the street.

A second and then a third alarm were sounded, and a mayday was declared for the injured firefighter, who was removed from the house and taken by ambulance to Virginia Hospital Center with injuries ACFD described at the time as non-life-threatening.

None of the home’s occupants were hurt. All fire was extinguished by 2:30 p.m.

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