Firefighter Suffers Severed Fingertip at Scene of Madison Ave. House Fire

A Pasadena firefighter suffered a severed fingertip during cleanup operations after fire crews extinguished an evening house fire in the 800 block of South Madison Ave. on Monday night, officials report.

The firefighter was transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital for treatment and later released in stable condition, they say.

Fire officials report that the fire was contained to a garage and guest house at the the rear of the residential property. Responding units encountered area residents with gardens hoses and then Fire Dept. personnel “quickly extinguished the fire.”

The cause of the fire was hot insulation from a power line that dropped down into combustibles next to the guest house,  Fire Dept. officials say.  Pasadena Water and Power responded and assisted Fire units.

The firefighter was injured when returning a ladder back to a fire dept. truck. His finger was pinched between the ladder and ladder bracket, causing the tip to be severed, officials say.

Officials estimate the fire caused $10,000 damage to a vehicle and over $30,000 damage to structures.