ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, Mo. (KMOX) - A DeSoto Rural firefighter escaped serious injury after falling into a fire-filled basement while battling a large church fire in French Village, Mo.
"As he crawled into the front of the structure, the floor was out and he went down into the basement where the fire was," said Big River/Bonne Terre Fire Chief David Pratte. "Other crews put a straight ladder down through the floor. Went down and got him."
The firefighter did not suffer any burns from the Friday morning fire. He was treated at a hospital and released.
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Pratte tells KMOX the lightning strike that started the fire at the Cornerstone Baptist Church on Highway Y in St. Francois County was captured on surveillance video a half-hour before the call came in.
Fourteen departments helped battle the blaze, using water trucked in from a pond a few miles away.
Pratte says the church's pastor is hoping to rebuild, with the help of members and others.
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