Firefighter hurt in Northside house fire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Fire destroyed a Northside house late Monday morning, and a firefighter battling the blaze was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Jacksonville Fire-Rescue.

Firefighters were called to the home in the 13000 block of Dunn Creek Road about 11:30 a.m.

No one was home at the time, and the fire was fully involved, officials said.

Neighbor said they smelled smoke and came running out to see what was going on. Chrystal Bennett looked across the street and couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"The house was in flames," Bennett said. "We were scared to death because we didn't know if anybody was home. Thank God we know now that nobody was."

The firefighter who was hurt was taken to UF Health Jacksonville with burns to his foot, officials said. They said he tried to go in the front porch that was in flames, and that caused his injury.

"We backed out of the house, went to the back of the house, forced entry to the back door, was able to get to the fire from the back of the house," said Capt. Richard Reichard.

Firefighters were able to gain control of the flames.

The Red Cross is assisting two adults who lived in the home, and the State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.

"I've never seen anything like this," Bennett said. "I've never seen a house burn. The noise, the crackling. You could feel the heat from over there."