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Ohio firefighters injured in house fire explosion

A mayday was transmitted when four Toledo firefighters were injured in an explosion

By Cliff Pinckard
cleveland.com

TOLEDO, Ohio — Four firefighters are expected to recover after they were injured by an explosion while battling a house fire, authorities say.

The Toledo Fire & Rescue Department says the firefighters had entered the home to battle the fire early Saturday morning when the explosion occurred.

“About 20 minutes after the call there was some sort of explosion,” Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong tells WTVG Channel 13. “A mayday was called. We were missing a couple firefighters and one I’m being told was actually blown out of the garage onto the ground.”

The fire department says all of the firefighters were found quickly after the explosion. Three of the firefighters were taken to a hospital emergency room for further evaluation and none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.

The people who lived in the home escaped without injury, with the fire department crediting smoke alarms for alerting them to the fire. It’s unclear what caused the explosion, but the fire remains under investigation.

Three cats in the home also escaped, but a family member tells WTVG the pets ran away and they’ve been unable to find them.

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