BY KRISTEN DELGUZZI
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Lt. Jerrold Ware fell out of a fourth-floor apartment window at this North Fairmount building. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

A Cincinnati firefighter was critically injured Saturday when he was trapped in a burning fourth-floor apartment bedroom in North Fairmount and then fell from the window to escape.

Lt. Jerrold Ware

Two other firefighters were burned and a fourth suffered an electric shock while trying to rescue a 4-year-old girl, who was pulled to safety unharmed.

By the time fire trucks pulled up in front of the building at 2601 Cummins St. Saturday morning, little Genine Gray was hanging out a fourth-floor window, sobbing and screaming for help.

Cincinnati firefighters responding to the two-alarm fire quickly launched two rescue attempts: one through the building and one from outside.

A firefighter atop a portable ladder pulled Genine to safety just as a huge fireball exploded into the room where she had been, trapping Lt. Jerrold Ware, 31, in the front bedroom. It also raced over two other firefighters, burning both.

Lt. Ware, unable to back out of the room and unable to fight the fire - the hose that they had taken into the building was singed open when the fire exploded - radioed for help, acting Cincinnati Fire Chief Gary Auffart said.

''Firefighters that were on the ground immediately tried to help, but they were unable to raise the ladders quickly enough,'' Chief Auffart said. ''We attempted to rescue him, but he couldn't stay there long enough for us to get to him.''

Lt. Ware, whose breathing equipment and face mask had been burned black when the fire blew into the bedroom, climbed out a window. He was gripping the frame, trying to wait for help. But already severely burned, he was unable to hold on.

He let go and plunged - with his clothing afire - at least 35 feet to the sidewalk.

''It took them forever to put him out,'' said Alberta Glenn, 45, who lives in the apartment building and had tried to rescue Genine before firefighters arrived. ''He was burning. They wrapped him up in a blue blanket and kept patting him and patting him. Then they unwrapped him and took his coat and pants off.''

Lt. Ware fell on his air tank, which probably saved him, a fire official said. (Yoni Pozner photo) | ZOOM |

When Lt. Ware fell, he landed on the top of the air tank strapped to his back. The left side of his head and neck were the first parts of his body to strike the ground.

''The impact broke the harness (of the air tank),'' said Assistant Chief John Neal. ''We think that absorbed a lot of the shock. It distributed the impact throughout his body, like a seatbelt. Even the doctor said that's probably what saved him.''

Lt. Ware, a firefighter for nine years, was in critical condition late Saturday in the burns unit at University Hospital. He has a fractured arm and second- and third-degree burns on his head, face and neck. Doctors think he has internal injuries, as well as fractures in his spine.

Cause of fire

The girl who was rescued was treated for smoke inhalation and released from the hospital Saturday, as was her mother, Latasha Gray, 22. They are among the eight families - approximately 20 people in all, according to the Red Cross - who were displaced by the fire.

Officials had no damage estimate Saturday but said the building was salvageable. The fire was contained to Ms. Gray's two-story unit. Other units were damaged by smoke and water.

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Investigators say the fire began in the kitchen of the Grays' apartment.

Capt. Lacey Calloway, commander of the fire investigation unit, said an unattended stove - a front burner was left on high - caused the fire.

The layout of the apartment, which Chief Auffart called ''peculiar,'' made the fire tricky to battle.

From the outside, it appeared as if all apartments in the brick building were on one story, each accessed from a central hallway and stairwell, he said.

But the Grays' apartment is on two floors: the kitchen and living room are downstairs on the third floor, and the bedrooms and bathroom are upstairs on the fourth floor. The two floors are connected by a private stairway.

When Lt. Ware and the other firefighters raced into the building to save Genine, they immediately went to the fourth floor, where she was. But when they got there, they did not find a fire on the fourth floor, despite thick smoke, Chief Auffart said.

''They weren't aware that the fire started on the third floor,'' he said, noting that smoke was not visible from the third-floor windows.

While the firefighters were on the fourth floor, the fire downstairs began to heat up until all items ignited at once, creating ''an explosive-type event'' known as a flashover.

''It literally raced up - blew up - that interior stairwell,'' Chief Auffart said.

''If that stairwell had not been in there, these people would not have been trapped in there.''

The fireball was so hot that it bowed the steel railing on the staircase, Capt. Calloway said.

None of the smoke detectors in the Gray apartment was working, Capt. Calloway said.

He won't know why they weren't working until Tuesday, when he can inspect the files of the company that manages the building.

The eight-unit apartment building is owned by Metro Management, which is subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Robert Haley, a maintenance worker for Metro, said the Gray apartment should have had detectors.

''(Maintenance) had just done some work in there and were told to put two new ones in,'' Mr. Haley said.

Although crews were told to install detectors, Mr. Haley said he cannot be sure they actually did until he checks records on Tuesday.

Neighbors said Ms. Gray had complained to them - and to management - that her smoke detectors were not working.

More injuries

The other injured firefighters are:

• Daniel Boller Jr., 31, a firefighter for two years, who suffered burns on both arms when he accidentally touched an electrical wire while trying to reach Genine. The shock did not deter him.

  ''He backed up, went back down the ladder, ducked under the electrical wires and tried to get in the window to get that little girl,'' Assistant Chief Neal said. ''Even though he was injured, he was still trying to get to that child.''

  Mr. Boller was treated and released.

• Joseph Lehman, 36, a firefighter for one year, who was in fair condition Saturday night at University Hospital's burn unit. He suffered second- and third-degree burns on his hands and face when he was caught in the flashover.

• Tyrone Norman, 37, a nine-year firefighter, who was treated and released at University for second-degree burns on his neck and face.

Several firefighters also have been temporarily removed from duty because of the shock and stress of seeing their colleagues injured. Officials have called in experts to help them cope.

''I'm very proud of the firefighters who were there,'' Chief Auffart said. ''Without their selfless effort, undoubtedly a 4-year-old girl would be dead today.''