A man suffered a broken leg when he jumped from the second floor of a home to escape a fire in Pelzer early Monday morning.
The fire happened around 1:40am at a home at 27 Hindman Street. Anderson County Fire Chief Billy Gibson says it took crews four minutes to get to the scene. We're told around 20 firefighters battled the flames and smoke.
Randall Bell, the adult son of the homeowners who lost their home in Monday’s fire, told us he was also in the house at the time of the fire.
He says he was on the couch when his dog woke him up. He saw the fire and went out the front door.
He said he heard his dad yelling and thought he was inside. He tried to run back inside but couldn't get through because of flames.
That's when he ran around the back and saw his dad on the porch, after jumping out the second floor bedroom window.
The son says his mom was bringing gas to a family member who was stuck, so he's thankful she wasn't upstairs. They did have two dogs that were killed in the fire.
Gibson says the man was trapped on the second floor and had no choice but to jump to safety. He broke his leg and was taken to Greenville Hospital System for treatment.
We're told he was still at GHS as of 1:30pm Monday. Bell said his father will likely be in the hospital for the next couple of days.
Chief Gibson says a faulty flue from a wood-burning stove started the fire.
The house was destroyed. It is not insured.
In addition to the homeowner, a firefighter working the scene also suffered contusions when debris fell on him, according to reports from News Channel 7 coverage partner the Anderson Independent-Mail.
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