By Niesha Lofing
The Sacramento Bee
SACRAMENTO — A Sacramento fire captain is facing the possibility that he must have surgery for burns suffered fighting a Natomas house fire Tuesday.
Capt. Jeffrey Helvin, 39, is in good condition in UC Davis Medical Center’s burn unit. He suffered serious burns to one hand and burns to his neck and face, said Capt. Jim Doucette.
“It’ll just take some rehabilitation and surgery,” Doucette said.
Three other firefighters were injured in the blaze. Bruce Gee, 26, Christopher Berquist, 30, and Eric Ely, 24, all suffered superficial burns.
They were treated at the hospital Tuesday and sent home the same day, Doucette said.
“One of them even wanted to come back to work” that day, he said.
The four firefighters were hurt while battling a two-alarm blaze that started about 9:30 a.m. in a home on Stilt Court.
They had gone upstairs to quell the spreading fire when the flames quickly intensified, Doucette said.
“It sounds like they got caught in some kind of ‘flashover,’ ” he said, referring to the term for an explosive ignition of a room’s contents — carpet, paint on the walls and furniture, for example.
“At least one or two of (the firefighters) jumped out of the windows, and the others made it down the stairway,” Doucette said.
He said the cause of the fire is undetermined, although it is thought to have started in the kitchen. No one was home at the time.
Damage to the house is estimated to be at least $150,000, he said.
Doucette said Fire Department investigators are trying to determine why the fire intensified so quickly, in hopes of preventing firefighter injuries.
“We could have lost four guys instantly,” he said.
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