Structure Fire
5-18-04

This fire occured in the 7300 block of Canary around 8pm. Station 3 had the first incoming unit to arrive on scene.
Reports came across the radios that an occupant was trapped inside the house. A man working in the backyard had tried to get into the back door to no avail. The heat and flames drove him back.

Engine 33 pulled up on scene with firefighters Corey Aiken and Kevin Dixon who proceeded to enter the house to search for the occupant. They found Ruth Porter who is in her 80's lying on the floor and pulled her to safety. She had first and second degree burns over 60% of her body. She was treated on scene by Engineer Steve Strickhausen, then transported by ambulance to UTMB burn center in Galveston where her condition is unknown.

The fire is believed to have been caused when a large limb that was being cut from a tree in the backyard fell and damaged the gas regulator. The regulator was not broken off but was twisted around backwards. This damage caused the gas to flow into the gas stove unregulated. An ignition source from somewhere in the house then set the stove ablaze.