A red-hot rifle discharged on its own inside a burning house and shot a firefighter, leaving the man clinging to life in a western Wisconsin hospital, authorities said Tuesday night.
Justin Fredrickson, 35, was in critical condition at Mayo Hospital in Eau Claire, said Cornell Area Fire Department Chief Dennis Klass.
Fredrickson, a 16-year veteran with the department, was one of several firefighters who responded to the blaze Friday in Willard Township, about 120 miles from the Twin Cities, Klass said.
"As [Fredrickson] was operating on a hose line outside of the structure, a loaded firearm inside the structure discharged," a statement from Klass read. The bullet struck Fredrickson in the abdomen.
Klass added that "the loaded firearm discharged due to heat conditions caused by the fire, not by the intentional actions of a person."
No other injuries associated with the fire were reported, said Assistant Fire Chief Matt Boulding.
Emergency medical personnel transported Fredrickson to a hospital in Ladysmith before he was taken by air ambulance to Mayo in Eau Claire.
He has undergone two surgeries so far and "is currently listed in critical condition" while awaiting a third operation, Klass' statement read.
