Three Greenwood firefighters and a Greenwood police officer were injured while responding to an early morning fire today.
The firefighters were trying to contain a fire inside an abandoned building at the corner of Nichols and Carrollton avenues around 4 a.m. when a wooden garage collapsed, trapping the three beneath the rubble.
Other firefighters and two Greenwood police officers already on the scene frantically worked to free the men from the burning wreckage.
The three trapped firemen suffered injuries when the building collapsed on them.
One fireman — a sergeant — was airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Centerin Jackson with serious injuries.
The other two were treated at Greenwood Leflore Hospital. One man, a captain, suffered a broken foot and was treated and released. The other dislocated his hip and went into surgery this morning, according to Fire Chief Marcus Banks.
Banks declined to release the names of the injured firemen.
One of the policemen early on the scene, Kristopher Hoskins, twisted his knee while helping to pull the firemen out of the debris.
Hoskins was treated and released from the Greenwood hospital. Acting Police Chief Ray Moore said he would be fine but would be “hopping around on crutches for a little while.”
The Fire Department initially received the call at 3:30 this morning and responded with three units.
When the wall collapsed, a Mayday went across the air, and units from all four city fire stations — as well as policemen and Leflore County deputies — came to help in the rescue efforts.
“I definitely want to send a special thanks to the Greenwood Police Department and the Leflore County Sheriff’s Office,” Banks said. “These men were totally trapped under the rubble. It took a coordinated effort to rescue these men.”
Moore said the conduct of the two officers initially on the scene — Hoskins and Randy Powell — went “above and beyond the call of duty.”
“I just can’t find the words to describe just how proud I am of them,” Moore said.
What initially started the blaze in the vacant building was still unclear this morning. Banks said early clues at the scene seemed to point to arson, but he said the investigation into the cause of the fire was just beginning.
The rubble of the garage and the badly damaged building were still smoking at 8:30 this morning as firemen worked their way through the scene, putting out embers and trying to secure the structure.
Victor Stokes, the city’s fire investigator, was also examining the scene. Banks said the State Fire Marshal’s Office had been contacted and would be dispatching investigators to help identify the cause.
The building, which sits across the street from W.C. Williams Elementary School, is owned by Kenneth Lee of Cottondale, Ala., according to records in the Leflore County Tax Assessor’s Office.
The building formerly housed the thrift store of the Salvation Army and still sports a sign for the shop, but it changed ownership several years ago, said Lt. Benjamin Deuel of the Salvation Army. The charitable organization’s thrift store is now located on U.S. 82.
• Contact Bryn Stole at 581-7235 or bstole@gwcommonwealth.com.
