Wisconsin firefighter wounded after loaded gun goes off inside burning building
A Wisconsin firefighter was wounded last Friday when heat from a building fire set off a loaded gun inside the structure and he was struck by a bullet.
According to a news release from the Connell Area Fire Department, Justin Fredrickson, 35, was operating a hose outside the burning building in the Township of Willard, in northwestern Wisconsin, when the gun went off. The bullet traveled through a wall and hit Fredrickson in the abdomen.
Investigators quickly determined that no one had actually shot the gun.
“The loaded firearm discharged due to heat conditions caused by the fire, not by the intentional actions of a person,” Fire Chief Dennis Klass said.
Fredrickson was rushed to a nearby hospital and was then airlifted to a hospital in Eau Claire.
Cornell Area Fire Department assistant chief Matt Boulding told CNN that Fredrickson is still in critical condition. He’s undergone two surgeries and a third is scheduled.
