Two Tulsa Firefighters Escape Early Morning House Fire

Friday, February 4th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Two firefighters were caught inside a burning house around 5:30 AM Friday in the 1400 block of west Admiral Drive. The house was engulfed in flames when Tulsa firefighters arrived and they proceeded to go inside the house in full force. They said the smoke was so thick, they couldn't see very far ahead of them.

The conditions made it impossible for firefighters to know where they were walking. Firefighter Adam Balogh, ended up falling when the upstairs floor gave way. "I heard him screaming,â€ said firefighter Wendell Evans. â€œI saw his flashlight go flying across the room, so I thought I better get him out of there."

When Evans went after Balogh, he also fell nearly twelve feet. "When I was falling, it seemed like it took forever for me to finally land," said Evans. When he did land, Evans says he could still hear his friend screaming for help. "All I could think about was getting over to where he was," he explained. Evans was hurt and couldn't get to his feet. He says it only took seconds before other firefighters came to his rescue.

Evans says he was worried about the dangerous situation they were in, because he was hurt and in pain. He had dislocated his shoulder. Balogh didn't suffer any injuries. A 26-year veteran of the fire department, Evans said he has never been put in a situation like that before, but if it happens again, he won't hesitate to help a fellow fightfighter. "They wouldn't hesitate either,â€ he said. â€œIf it had been me that had fallen, whoever was behind me would have done the same thing."

Fire investigators said the fire was caused by a leaking connection to the kitchen stove. The damage to the dwelling is estimated to be around $35,000.