DETROIT – Two Detroit firefighters were taken to the hospital early Wednesday morning after they suffered smoke inhalation while battling a two-alarm fire on the city's west side.
A fire broke out just before 2 a.m. at a vacant house at Lawton and Richton streets and spread to a vacant 5-story apartment building that is next door.
"Two fire fighters were overcome by smoke after running into the burning apartment," said Senior Fire Chief James Houseworth. "This went south quick. The building was dark, it was hard to see. Things started falling, people got lost."
The firefighters were being treated at Henry Ford Hospital.
"These men are Detroit Fire Fighters, I know they'll be ok," Houseworth said.
Because the structures are unstable, firefighters worked to extinguish the fire from the outside. They also had difficultly because of low water pressure in the area.
"We had problems finding water, our fire fighters had to go searching for water pressure," Houseworth said.
Arson investigators will be looking for the cause of the fire.