Man injured after jumping from window during fire at south Phoenix home

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A man is recovering after jumping from the second floor as smoke engulfed a south Phoenix home early Friday morning.

It happened at a home near 24th Street and Baseline Road around 6:30 a.m. When they arrived, firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the second floor of the house.

Wendell Craig, 58, jumped out of a second-story window to get away from the flames.

As firefighters battled the fire, they rescued Craig’s parents, who were still inside on the first floor. Craig lives with them, who are both in their 80s.

Wendell Craig’s brother, Eric Craig, said Wendell suffered a broken ankle, two broken vertebrae and a dislocated wrist. “I just wanted to make sure he was OK,” said Eric Craig. “He’s in the hospital. I think he has ligament damage and bone damage, but he’s safe, so just recovering.”

Phoenix Fire Capt. Todd Keller said that people jumping out of second or third-floor windows during a fire is not that common, but it does happen, especially if a person feels trapped from the heat or heavy smoke. But it’s usually a last resort. “If it’s a situation where you can’t escape heat, like in this situation this morning, you are going to do what you have to do to save yourself to avoid that heat and flames stuff like that,” said Keller.

Keller recommends that everyone in a house or apartment have some type of fire plan in place or an escape route that you and your family can follow in an emergency, and whatever can be done to avoid having to jump off a roof 10 to 15 feet up.

“I think at the end of the day, things can be replaced, and so that’s the main objective, their safety,” said Eric Craig.

No firefighters were hurt, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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