5 Indianapolis Firefighters Injured When Floor Collapses

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Five Indianapolis firefighters were hospitalized with injuries Monday night after they fell through the floor of a burning home while responding to a fire later ruled an arson, officials said.

The firefighters were on the vacant home's second floor after 9 p.m. when the floor collapsed beneath them and they fell about 10 feet to the first floor, landing near the building's front door, said Battalion Chief Rita Reith of the Indianapolis Fire Department.

The firefighters were hospitalized but Reith said Tuesday morning that all five had been released from the hospital and were recovering at home, The Indianapolis Star reported.

“They are all expected to make a full recovery,” she said in an email.

Fire investigators later ruled the fire at the residence arson. Authorities said Tuesday morning that an incendiary was used to start Monday's fire at the home.

Reith said the blaze was the second fire in just over a month at the vacant structure, located near the Fountain Square neighborhood about one mile southeast of downtown Indianapolis.