OKC Firefighter Helmet Cam Video Shows Dangers Of Racing Into Dark Smoke

Firefighter helmet cam is giving the public a first hand look at what responders are up against when called to a fire.

Friday afternoon Oklahoma City firefighters responded to a house fire near Southeast 19th Street and South Central Avenue. 

"Bystanders told our firefighters that they thought there may be two people inside the home,” said Oklahoma City Fire Battalion Chief  Benny Fulkerson.

With no time to waste firefighters stormed into the burning home.

“Incident commanders have a lot of decisions to make sometimes with very little information and time, and it’s life or death that need to be made quickly,” said Fulkerson. “That's what we're trained to do, that's what we're paid to do and that's what we're expected to do.” 

He says within seconds firefighters were hit with a wall of darkness.

“You can see even in that video even how quickly it went to black, they were no sooner inside when visibility went to absolute zero,” said Fulkerson.

Unsure if anyone was still inside, the crew scrambled through the blinding conditions and intense heat in an effort to clear the house.

“It's hot, you can't see your hand in front of your face. In this particular fire it was 600 degrees that's hotter than anything you bake in your oven at,” said Fulkerson.

In just minutes firefighters cleared the home, later posting helmet cam video to social media. Fulkerson says the video helps the public understand just how intense a fire can become within seconds.

“People never think this could happen to me you always think it could happen to someone else, well every video we show it was someone else and it could be you tomorrow,” said Fulkerson.

Firefighters later learned the home was vacant. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.