WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — An alarming video showed a wall collapsing on two Winston-Salem firefighters during a call last week. The fire chief showed the video Wednesday morning during a news conference.
The chief said it serves as another reminder of the dangers his firefighters face every day. The chief said the video is from Oct. 5.
The video shows two firefighters, who were responding to a building fire, standing beside a brick building, then the top of a brick wall falls directly on them.
Other firefighters rush in to pick them up and lift the bricks off of them. You can hear one yell "Where are you?"
Winston-Salem Fire Chief, Trey Mayo said the two firefighters were treated and released from the hospital.
"If that wall had fallen two seconds early, we very likely would have paralyzed firefighters, if not worse.," he continued, "when you see fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances going up and down the road think less about the interruption to your travel, think about the people to whom they're responding that are in need and think about the risk firefighters and police officers and emergency medical workers face by choice," Chief Mayo reminded.
October is fire prevention month, and Wednesday marks the middle of fire prevention week.
The fire department said cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries. They encourage people to avoid cooking while they're tired or under the influence.