A volunteer firefighter has died after he fell through a compromised floor while battling a fire in Nassau County on Long Island early last Friday, WABC-TV New York.
The flames broke out in the basement of an empty home on Central Avenue in Woodmere just before 4 a.m.
Inwood firefighter Joseph Sanford, Jr., who was one of the first on the scene after the initial 911 call, apparently fell through the first floor and into the basement after entering the building.
It is unclear if other firefighters even knew he was inside, as his lifeless body was found accidentally by other firefighters making their way through the house.
He was in cardiac arrest, but firefighters were able to revive him.
He was transported to the hospital for treatment of his injuries where he died Tuesday afternoon.
The fire required 13 departments from Woodmere, Inwood, Lawrence- Cedarhurst, East Rockaway, Elmont, Hewlett, Lakeview, Lynbrook, Malverne, Meadowmere, Oceanside, Rockville Centre and Valley Stream, with 200 firefighters and 20 pieces of apparatus to extinguish the fire.
Two other firefighters suffered minor injuries.
The residents were not home at the time, and the fire is not believed to be suspicious. The homeowner declined to comment other than to express sympathy for Sanford.
According to U.S. Fire Administration, Firefighter Sanford succumbed to injuries sustained several days after being rescued from the basement of a burning residence in Woodmere, New York, revived by fellow responders and transported to the hospital. Sanford, a former assistant fire chief with the Inwood Fire Department, was reported to have been one of the first firefighters on the scene when he became separated from others and fell through the first floor of the home into the basement. Investigation into the fatal fire incident continues by authorities.
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