May 4, 2004

PRESS RELEASE

To: Newsroom

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Asst. to the Fire Chief

Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2411, page: 675-2137

Firefighter Recovering from Injuries

A Shreveport firefighter who fell through the second floor of a commercial building fire in the 2400 Milam last night is at home recovering from a fractured back . . .

Firefighter Martin "Craig" Bynog was with his crew from fire station number four when the floor he was standing on gave way, dropping him some 15 feet to the ground level of the building. According to the officer in charge, they had made their way through the front door and to the second floor when they began fighting the fire, that had already broken through to the attic. From outside the Incident Commander contacted them on the radio and ordered them out of the building because of the deteriorating conditions inside the building because of the intensity of the fire. That’s when the officer said he reached back for Bynog and "he was gone."

As Bynog lay motionless on the floor below, his crew raced downstairs and radioed outside that a firefighter was down. Firefighters quickly broke through a first floor metal door and found Bynog. After slowly reaching his feet, Bynog was assisted out and into an awaiting Medic unit, where he received treatment for his injuries by department paramedics. He was transported to Willis Knighton hospital where he was diagnosed with an L-4 fracture (lumbar fourth bone). Physicians said the injury was not severe and that at the most he would be required to wear a back-brace to prevent further aggravation of the injury. Bynog will be off until the injury is healed and he is 100 percent ready to return to work. His prognosis is for a full-recovery with no residual effects from the injury.

The fire itself continued to burn for more than an hour and prompted fire officials to call for a second alarm to battle the sprawling structure, that once was home to a local church. After being deluged with master water streams that surrounded the building, the fire was finally brought under control around 10:30 p.m. Investigators are still looking to the cause. ###