2 firefighters injured in arson fire on Detroit's west side

DETROIT (WJBK) - Two Detroit firefighters suffered injuries while battling the flames at a family home on the city's west side.

Investigators say the fire was not an accident, but are calling it arson.

Crews took on the fire early Wednesday morning in the 8500 block of Minock.

Two firefighters entered the home immediately after learning someone could have been trapped inside.

"There was smoke in the overhead and they said all of a sudden the smoke started dropping very rapidly. It got red hot in there and then it exploded into orange, so it caught fire," said Dave Fornell, DFD deputy fire commissioner. "The building had heated up so much because the fire was in the basement and it cooked the building. Once it gets to a certain temperature, everything just catches fire at once."

The two firefighters were caught in a vortex.

For years Detroit firefighters wore mustard yellow gear, until December. They switched to new, high tech gear designed to minimize injuries.

"The gear did its job ... (The gear) saw 900 degrees but yet it protected him from more serious burns," Fornell said.

The white hood withstands heat up to 600 degrees and without it, Fornell says the firefighter could have lost an ear.

The high tech gear isn't cheap but the Detroit Fire Department says it's worth every penny.

"It was a $1.2 million dollar initiative," Fornell said.

As far as the arson fire on Minock, firefighters did not find anyone inside.

They believe some sort of flammable liquid was used to start the fire.