BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Buffalo firefighters responded to a blaze Wednesday night that took an unexpected turn. The call originally came into police as a shooting, but before long firefighters were on the scene on Carl Street as well.
A man who was shot in the leg was rescued from his burning Carl Street home. Fire officials say the man had been locked in a second-floor bedroom after being shot in the leg when someone started a fire on the first floor.
The man managed to escape through a window onto the roof above the porch. Crews helped bring the man, who is in his 40s, to the ground before he was rushed to the hospital. Firefighters then quickly brought the flames under control.
Buffalo Fire Battalion Chief Mark Hillery said, “On the way here we made sure that the alleged assailant was not on location because there has been instances throughout the country of firemen getting shot at, at fires like this.”
“We did the best with what we had, as always the men and women of the fire department do a great job,” said Hillery.
A relative tells News 4 the man is expected to survive and is listed in stable condition at ECMC. A dog was also rescued from the home.
They also say they were stretched for manpower, because other firefighters were dealing with a fire on Delaware Avenue.
Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.
Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.
He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.
