DETROIT (WXYZ) — After eight firefighters were injured in a vacant house fire Thursday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in conjunction with the Detroit Fire Department has raised their reward to $25,000, asking for information about those responsible.
As a vacant home collapsed, three Detroit firefighters became trapped inside. One of them was Lt. Paul Fillmore. He was trapped under debris for over an hour.
Nearly 60 firefighters were on scene to dig him out, loading him up on a stretcher and off to the hospital. In a public Facebook post Friday, Fillmore said he was released Thursday night, miraculously with no broken bones or serious injuries.
“He’s doing great," Detroit Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms said. "He was actually cracking jokes and laughing, so that’s a good sign.”
Seven other firefighters were hurt but all released from the hospital.
"Just shaken up, beat up. There’s some cuts and bruises, a couple guys lost some teeth, a couple scrapes on the head and stuff, some twisted knees. But it could have been a lot worse,” Tom Gehart, president of the Detroit Firefighters Association, said.
Now it’s on to the investigation. Detroit’s Arson Task Force, which includes ATF and the Detroit Police Department, is assisting. However, ATF says it hasn’t officially been ruled an arson just yet.
"If there’s eyewitnesses and good video, it can be very quick," ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Keith Krolczyk said of the investigaiton. "If there’s not, it can take months, more than that, years.”
Just 24 hours after the investigation began, the reward was upped to $25,000, seeking any information on those responsible.
“If this fire was intentionally set we’re going to find the person that did it and we are going to prosecute them,” Krolczyk said.
If you have any information, you can report anonymously at the ATF’s tip line. The number is 888-ATF-TIPS.
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