Firefighter Injured After Falling Through Floor During Loudoun Blaze

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — A Loudoun County firefighter had to be rescued from a house fire on Tuesday morning, Loudoun County Fire and Rescue officials said.

The firefighter suffered minor injuries. They received treatment at an area hospital. No other injuries were reported in the blaze, according to authorities.

The blaze started when improperly discarded construction materials spontaneously combusted, the fire marshal's office said. The fire caused $420,000 in damages.

The fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning on Connor Court in the Kinsale Place community. Smoke alarms were sounding when firefighters arrived on the scene, authorities said.

First responders saw smoke and fire in the first floor of the home, with the possibility of a basement fire. Fire crews started attacking the fire from the inside of the home. They extinguished the fire on the first floor in about 10 minutes, the fire department said.

"As crews were performing interior operations, a firefighter fell through the hole from the first floor into the basement," Loudoun Fire and Rescue officials said. "A Mayday was declared for the firefighter by a nearby crew member, who was quickly located and assisted out of the structure by additional crews on scene."

Authorities noted that first responders had already identified the hole in the floor before the firefighter fell through it.

Fire and rescue officials urged Loudoun residents to properly dispose of construction materials to avoid possible fires.

"When sanding and/or refinishing wooden floors, remember to discard sanding and staining materials by placing them into a metal container with a self-closing lid, away from the structure," fire and rescue officials wrote on Facebook. "If no such container is available, be sure to lay the rags flat on an exterior surface and allow them to completely dry."