MCKINNEY, Texas — A mayday was transmitted during a McKinney house fire that injured nine firefighters.
McKinney firefighters responded at approximately 9:11 p.m. on Aug. 30 to a structure fire on Joshua Tree Trail. The caller reported flames in the primary bedroom. Truck 11 reported heavy smoke showing from the two-story residence and initiated an aggressive interior attack, WFAA reported.
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Firefighters later encountered heavy smoke and extreme heat conditions on the second floor. A mayday was declared when a Truck 3 firefighter became disoriented and ran low on air.
“You almost don’t believe it,” McKinney Chief Paul Dow said. “I think everyone had to look to somebody else who was by their side and ask, ‘Did that mayday — did that actually go out?’”
Firefighters quickly rescued their disoriented colleague, but as the blaze spread into the attic, crews shifted to exterior operations.
Nine firefighters were hospitalized with injuries from smoke inhalation and overexertion, but all were treated and released on Aug. 31.
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