SUFFOLK, Va. — Two firefighters had to be helped out of a home on fire, and one was taken to a hospital, after being overwhelmed with heat Friday afternoon.
A neighbor called Suffolk Fire & Rescue to put out a fire in the 200 block of Jonathans Way around 1 p.m. after seeing smoke there.
Nobody was in the house when firefighters got there.
The fire was declared under control just after 2 p.m. Teams were still on scene around 3:15 p.m.
A spokesperson for the city of Suffolk said firefighters were working in shifts to try to prevent heat-related illnesses Friday.
"Due to today’s extreme heat conditions and the approximately 50 pounds of protective gear and equipment utilized by each firefighter, they were rotating in 10-minute shifts during the incident, and the Rehab Bus was also brought to the scene," City of Suffolk spokesperson Diana Klink wrote in a news release.
The two firefighters who overheated were given medical treatment. One of them was taken to a hospital for observation.
Two adults were displaced by the damage from the fire.
The Chesapeake Fire Department, Smithfield Fire Department, and Carrsville Fire Department helped Suffolk with the fire.
Klink said the road near the Applewood neighborhood home would be closed for an "extensive period of time" while emergency teams packed up and left the scene.
Investigators think the fire started outside and spread into the house through the knee wall and the attic.
The Fire Marshal's office later said the cause of the fire was someone carelessly discarding "smoking materials." It was declared an accident.
