ALBERTA, Canada — A firefighter who leapt into a lake to escape a “fire tornado” last week said it was the most harrowing situation he’s faced in his career.
Calgary Herald reported that St. Albert firefighters uploaded footage of the frightening ordeal to their Facebook page, which shows heavy smoke from a brush fire billowing into a funnel and moving closer to firefighters. The blaze was sparked by a campfire on the edge of Big Lake.
Firefighters were waiting for conditions to change when the wind turned the fire into a dangerous whirlwind.
“I turned around and saw the big storm of ash coming toward me,” firefighter Vincent Pashko said. “I could feel the heat coming up over my head and I ran to Big Lake and dropped into the water to cool myself off.”
Firefighter Pashko escaped uninjured.
“I was really lucky. It’s just one of those things,” he said.