Two of the firefighters trapped in a ''flashover'' while fighting a Saturday fire said they sensed something ominous was about to occur seconds before a billowing ''heat wave'' engulfed them.
''All of the sudden, it got completely black and, like a sixth sense, you know something is not right,'' said Lt. Kurt Brinkman. ''It got really hot, and I knew we were in trouble.''
Lt. Brinkman and Firefighter Joseph ''Tony'' Lehman had followed Lt. Jerrold Ware into a North Fairmount apartment Saturday morning, trying to reach a screaming 4-year-old girl hanging out a fourth-floor window, and searching for other victims.
Lt. Ware was trapped during the flashover - an explosive-type event that occurs when the items in a fire simultaneously ignite - burned severely, and either jumped or fell from the fourth-floor window while trying to escape the heat.
He was in critical condition at University Hospital Sunday with second- and third-degree burns, lung problems and a broken arm.
Family members, reached at the hospital, declined to comment.
Firefighters were still stunned Sunday by the sudden turn of misfortune that injured Lt. Ware, Firefighter Lehman and two other firefighters.
''Our department is shook by this,'' said Assistant Chief John Neal. ''It's shook us to the core. I can see it in the guys' faces.''
Lt. Brinkman and Firefighter Lehman, from the University Hospital bed where he is being treated for burns to his face and neck, said they crawled through the smoky apartment, trying to reach the 4-year-old, Genine Gray, and searching for others.
''Tony was about 2 feet ahead of me, and Jerrold was somewhere ahead of us,'' Lt. Brinkman said. ''We could see the light coming through the windows.''
Firefighter Lehman, 36, managed to open a window near where the girl was standing, hoping to get on the fire escape and grab her. But she was too far away.
''When I closed the window, that's when I felt the first wave of heat,'' he said. ''I knew something was wrong, and I had to get out of there.''
Lt. Brinkman felt it, too.
''My neck was burning and my hands were burning, and I remember yelling for Tony, telling him we had to get out,'' he said.
As he was crawling, Firefighter Lehman's mask got caught and yanked to the right side of his face. He had to make a choice: take off his glove and fix the mask, or try to get out with an unsecured mask.
''I figured it was better to burn my hand than my face,'' he said. ''When I took off my glove, it hurt so fast I wasn't sure what it was.''
As the wave of heat billowed through the apartment, Lt. Brinkman was jolted by a scream. ''I heard a scream I had never heard before in my life, and I hope I never hear it again,'' he said. ''It was a scream like someone was dying.''
He was unsure whether the scream came from Firefighter Lehman or Lt. Ware. He couldn't locate either in the smoke.
Somehow, he managed to get to a window and jump to a fire escape. He escaped serious injury, saying he felt as if he were sunburned.
Meanwhile, Firefighter Lehman, who said he felt a second, more intense heat wave about 30 seconds after the first, started crawling, ungloved hand in his coat, toward the sound of spraying water.
He called for help, but no one came.
''I was getting angry because I couldn't believe no one was responding,'' he said. ''But when I got there, I realized the hose had broken loose and melted through, It was spraying water out the back, and no one was there.''
He stopped a second and cooled his burning hand in the water. He felt around in the smoke, grabbing the rail of the staircase he had climbed to get to the apartment. A few seconds later, he was free.
''It's like it is happening to someone else,'' he said from his hospital bed. ''It's surreal.''
He is expected to be released from the hospital in a week. He does not know when he will be able to return to work.
Lt. Ware's condition is much worse. Machines are feeding him and helping him to breathe, and doctors are still trying to determine the extent of his injuries.
It is unclear whether Lt. Ware jumped or fell from the fourth-floor window, which he dangled from trying to escape the intense heat inside the apartment.
Firefighter Tyrone Norman, 37, who apparently took the same staircase out as Firefighter Lehman, was treated for second-degree burns on his neck and face at University Hospital and released.
Firefighter Daniel Boller Jr., 31, was injured as he rode a ladder, trying to reach Genine Gray. The ladder came into contact with power lines, and he was shocked, burning both arms. He was also treated at University and released.
Genine and her mother, Latasha Gray, 22, were treated for smoke inhalation at University Hospital and released. They were staying in a hotel Sunday, courtesy of the American Red Cross, and did not return phone calls requesting an interview.
Smoke detectors in the Gray apartment were not working, and fire officials are still trying to determine why.
Smoke damage left about 20 people homeless. The Red Cross helped some find a place to stay. Others went with friends or family members.
BURNED RESCUER ASKS ABOUT FATE OF GIRL
FELLOW FIREFIGHTER KNOWS WARE'S PAIN
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FOUR FIREFIGHTERS HURT IN RESCUE Aug. 31, 1997
HOW IT HAPPENED (96K GIF) Aug. 31, 1997
