Longview Fire Department Releases Dramatic Video Of Awning Collapse
You already know that firefighters are heroes whose duty calls for them to run into a dangerous situation, putting their lives on the line to save our lives and our property. A scary and dramatic video was released this week by the Longview Fire Department showing how perilous this line of work is.
The Longview Fire Department responded to the 300 block of North High Street for a reported commercial building fire back on August 7th. Upon their arrival, they found heavy fire conditions coming from Nicholson Paint Supply at 303 N. High St. and went to work combatting the fire.
In a video that was posted on the City Of Longview's YouTube channel, you can see several firefighters working to put out the blaze when suddenly you can see the awning of the building begin to collapse, falling onto one firefighter completely while 2 more trying to escape before one of the firefighters falls down.
Two firefighters sustained injuries when the concrete underlining of the awning on the front of the building collapsed according to the LFD. Both firefighters were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A third firefighter received a burn to his arm and was treated on scene.
The fire was brought under control at approximately 4:30 a.m. with the fire being contained to the original business. Two other businesses sustained heat, smoke, and water damage.
While on the scene, the Fire Marshal’s Office detained a suspect, William Louis Coyle Jr., 41, of Longview, who is still being held in the Gregg County jail on an arson causing bodily injury or death charge. His bond amount has been set at $100,000.
We want to wish those injured a speedy recovery and we also want to say THANK YOU to our amazing first responders all across East Texas for the work you do every day for our communities.