A firefighter died after he fought a house fire in Leonardtown, Maryland, early Tuesday, authorities said.
The firefighter was assigned to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, spokesman Patrick Gordon said, calling his death a “tremendous tragedy.” The firefighter’s name was not immediately released.
The residents — a man, woman and their daughter — were able to make it out alive, but their two-story house was reduced to rubble and ash.
Firefighters responded to a house fire in the 20500 block of Deer Wood Park Drive at about 5:30 a.m., the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department said. Several departments responded to the call.
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"May day, may day, may day. We have a missing firefighter on the first floor," someone can be heard saying on a dispatch call.
The firefighter fell through the first floor and became trapped, the Mechanicsville department said. He was located and pronounced dead on the scene.
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Firefighters brought the house fire under control. Chopper4 footage shows a pile of wreckage in a wooded area where a house once stood.
A loud boom and then the smell of smoke
Resident Richard McNeil said he was stunned by the firefighter’s death and the loss of their home.
“It’s hard to explain how it hurts inside,” he said, standing near the rubble. “All’s I’ve got to say is that I’m sorry it happened. I know he was doing his job.”
McNeil had lived in his home since 1996. He said he was still trying to process his family’s life-changing day.
“Everything we had is gone,” he said. “My wife and I and our daughter are still living. It was that close.”
His daughter woke up in the early hours of the morning after she heard a loud boom and smelled smoke.
“She ran into us and she said, ‘The house is on fire!’” McNeil said. “I walked over to the hallway and I could see the flames blowing in there.”
The three were able to escape. They watched from across the street as firefighters tried to save their home.
McNeil and neighbors believe a lightning strike may have caused the fire. The investigation is ongoing, the fire marshal’s office said.
First responders in the region and beyond are mourning the firefighter's death, Gordon, the Naval Air Station Patuxent River spokesman, said.
"This firefighter gave his life in the line of duty, paying the ultimate sacrifice in the service of others," he said.
The Department of Defense is expected to release information on the firefighter's identity on Wednesday.
Leonardtown, in St. Mary’s County, is about 65 miles southeast of Washington, D.C.
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Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.