FIREFIGHTERS IN HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA, got to witness a fire explosion up close Thursday morning when six of them were attacking a fire inside a townhome. 

all photos via Harrisonburg Fire Dept.

They had responded to the fire around 10:30 am and found a row house with a working fire.  As they were inside, an as-yet-unidentified type of explosion wracked the fire building.  WHSV-TV continues:

Harrisonburg Fire Capt. Larry Shifflett witnessed the unthinkable.  As several of his men went to fight the fire, an explosion occurred on the second floor.

Shifflett says, “Four of those guys came out the front door. They suffered first- and second-degree burns. Two of them actually had to bail out the second floor window and just hang by their fingertips until we could get ladders to get them down.”

Another firefighter was transported later for heat-related problems and later released.  It is believed that the fire started from cigarette butts in a trash can.  Three homes were damaged by the fire, two of them have extensive damage.

WHSV-TV has the full story and a video report HERE.
Harrisonburg Fire Department WEBSITE.

Hat tip:  John C.