GROVES — Firefighters charged into a raging house fire and rescued a quadriplegic boy minutes before the roof of the home collapsed Wednesday night.
Firefighters initially received a call at about 10:16 p.m. that the fire was on Bay Street but a police officer who arrived first advised them the fire was actually in the 3200 block of Alison Avenue according to a release from the Groves Fire Department.
The boy's 11-year-old brother escaped the house and told officers that his brother was in a rear bedroom of the home and cold not get out on his own the release said.
David Hancock, a Groves Police deputy marshal, attempted to get to the boy but burglar bars on the windows kept him from getting into the boy's bedroom the release said.
At about the same time firefighters Darron Marsh and Josh Hidalgo entered the blazing structure armed with a fire hose to search for the boy.
Based on information provided by his brother Marsh and Hidalgo were able to find the boy the release said.
A video released Thursday afternoon by the Groves Fire Department shows Marsh and Hidalgo entering the structure, which appeared to be covered in flames, then shows them exiting the house carrying the boy.
Time coding on the video showed that Marsh and Hidalgo were in the blazing structure for more than five minutes before they emerged from what appeared to be a curtain of flames.
Assistant fire chief Kelley Moore can also be seen in the video spraying water onto the fire to provide protection as the other firefighters brought the boy out according to the release.
Once the boy was safely out of the home he was treated on the scene and later transported to the hospital.
The boy is currently in stable constable condition at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston according to the release.
No firefighters were injured while fighting the fire.
When firefighters arrived on the scene they could hear ammunition going off inside the garage as the fire completely destroyed the family's home.
