Tulsa firefighters battled flames and the elements early Tuesday morning, and rescued two women from a burning home in north Tulsa.
The call came in to 911 just after 3 a.m., sending fire crews to a house at the intersection of E. 27th Place and N. Hartford Ave.
When the initial companies arrived, they found the house burning fiercely, and a woman outside in the driveway told them there were people inside.
"Companies rolled up with heavy flames out of the structure," he said, and because of the wind they had a lot of smoke and embers obstructing their view.
Dist. Chief Bennie E. Herring told KRMG at the scene that they immediately went into search and rescue mode.
"The first crew that went through the garage heard someone in the garage, did a quick search for that voice, found a lady and brought her out to the driveway with the first woman," he said.
The two women said another woman was in a bedroom in the northeast part of the house, the only other part that wasn't burning at the time.
Then, the house flashed over. "That's when all the flammable combustibles inside the house reach their ignition temperature at the same time," Chief Herring said. "It blew out with enough force to knock three of probably my largest guys down, tall big men."
Another crew, meanwhile, saw someone trying to force a window on the northeast side, they managed to get through the window and rescue a woman and her dog from inside.
One of the women went to the hospital with burns on her face, a second with smoke inhalation. The third woman was unhurt.
Remarkably none of the firefighters, including those caught by the flash over, were injured.
Fire marshals arrived on the scene shortly after 4:00 a.m. to investigate the cause.
Chief Herring said the structure will be a total loss. Part of the roof collapsed in the center of the home, and every room was destroyed or heavily damaged in the fire.
The Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross responded as well to help the occupants with clothing and shelter.