VIDEO: One year ago, a man shot himself after setting a fire that destroyed several homes in Springfield, and today the first responders are looking back.
“We started getting ready to fight fire. As we were pulling up on scene, glass exploded through the cab and something hard hit me in the left chest," said Captain Craig Degarlais with Eugene Springfield Fire.
At first many of the firefighters thought the noises, shattering and force were all coming from the fire.
But as the seconds wore on, the true danger became clear -- they were being ambushed.
As the fire call turned into a firefight between a gunman and the first responders, they were forced to take cover, causing the fire to grow even larger.
They all went back to the station just a block away after all five of the firefighters were hit.