Springfield firefighter and colleagues continue to recover from accident that put him in a hospital

SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield firefighter remained in a hospital Friday, recovering from injuries he suffered in a fall during a house fire.

The firefighter’s colleagues, affected by the injury city fire rescue division Chief Brian Miller describes as one of the most serious the department has had in quite some time, are continuing to recover as well.

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Miller said the situation is an opportunity for the department to review and improve.

Firefighter Rob Baise fell down a flight of stairs Sunday during the house fire, seriously injuring his neck. He was taken by CareFlight to Miami Valley Hospital.

“I’m super happy to tell you he is getting better and we still have reason to believe a full recovery is possible and that’s what we’re praying for,” Miller told News Center 7′s Haley Kosik.

There’s still some swelling, but it’s dissipating every day.

The incident has affected the fire house, the chief said.

“By seeing their partner, their co-worker improve his condition, they have been able to move past this on some level. Obviously there’s always something to learn from every incident, whether it goes well or whether it goes bad. So we’re going to take advantage of those learning opportunities.”

That means once Baise is cleared to go home, the department will undergo an after-action review.

“It wasn’t a matter of strategy or tactics. It was simply an accident that took place in a pretty hazardous environment,” Chief Miller said.

Several firefighters were on the second floor of the home when high temperatures prompted them to get out. That’s when Baise fell.

“It’s like ‘oh, we’re missing somebody,’ " Chief Miller said. “We knew when we came out to have an accountability, headcount, we said, ‘hey we’re missing somebody’ and within seconds, the guys that just left, they turned and went right back” into the home to get their fellow firefighter.

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