ORLANDO, Fla. — A firefighter was injured while battling a house fire in Holden Heights early Wednesday morning.

  • Firefighter will be 'OK' says battlion chief
  • House was vacant at time of fire
  • Fire marshal investigating

What can be gathered is that the house near 24th Street and Rio Grande Avenue looks like a total loss.

"Unfortunately it was an older house. It had plywood ceilings, which made it difficult to access the roof and get into the fire up into the roof," Battalion Chief David Janssen of the Orange County Fire Rescue explained to Spectrum News 13.


Flames were shooting several feet into the air as firefighters doused the flames to get the fire under control. (Will Claggett, staff)

Spectrum News 13 also spotted a person being transported on a stretcher to an ambulance.

Janssen told Spectrum News 13 that the lieutenant who was injured his back is doing OK and he was taken to the Orlando Regional Medical Center. 

He has since been treated and released. According to fire officials, the incident commander ordered everybody out of the house to switch firefighting tactics and the firefighter went through a window when he injured his back.

Several units responded to the scene and the power company arrived on scene, presumably to cut power to the home.

Since the house is vacant, the battalion chief suspects someone may have started the fire.

The state fire marshal has been called in to investigate.