April 22, 2010

A small fire at a fraternity house in Charlottesville sent one firefighter to the hospital, but not because of the fire itself.

Firefighters responded to a routine call at the frat house and found heavy smoke in the basement. A washer/dryer caught fire, but the students evacuated quickly.

One firefighter was taken to the hospital with minor smoke inhalation. The pollen, though, may have made a minor situation worse.

"If you have somebody this time of year, particularly with allergies or something, and you get a little smoke from outside, it could be enough to irritate allergies and create some problems for folks, so we've had that happen before," Charlottesville Battalion Chief Britt Grimm said.

Grimm said the firefighter will be OK.

This was a relatively small incident, contained to the washer/dryer unit, and the students are able to return inside.

But with the pollen counts high, firefighters will have to continue to fight the fires in addition to their allergies.

Grimm said firefighters were responding to a smoke alarm in this case, so they were able to arrive quickly and contain the fire. The fire department supplies free smoke detectors tho those who need one.