WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Two firefighters were transported to a hospital after falling on ice while battling flames at a home in Wilkes-Barre.
There is no word on their condition but other firefighters on scene tell Newswatch 16 the fire was extremely difficult to extinguish.
"These firefighters tonight really dug deep. Yes, one house burned but no one got killed and we just had the worst conditions that you could have to fight a fire," said Chief Jay Delaney.
Firefighters spent more than four hours in single digit temperatures to put out the fire on the 200 block of North Main Street in Wilkes-Barre.
First responders say it was tough working in the bitter cold but Tiffany Jackson and her two sons made it out of their home safely.
"That scared me to death. It honestly did. It was so scary," said Jackson.
Before firefighters could get there Jackson says she ran into the house to save her dogs.
"I collapsed on the steps because you couldn't see, you couldn't breathe. None of the lights were working. Nothing was working. By the time I got back down out of the steps - the whole house was like - you couldn't get anywhere near it," said Jackson.
Conditions were so difficult that the fire chief says two firefighters actually slipped on the ice and needed to be taken to the hospital.
Those firefighters are expected to be okay.
"They just did a phenomenal job to try to get to it but it was just too tough. The conditions were too bad. We had to back our troops out and then go defensive and fight the fire from outside," said Delaney.
"I'm so grateful for these men. I really am. They have been out here non-stop," said Jackson.
The Red Cross is helping Jackson and her two sons. Meanwhile, investigators are still looking for a cause on the fire.