I was a lieutenant on the 3rd due engine for a confirmed fire in a large multiple dwelling. There was heavy fire showing from multiple windows with reports of people trapped on the top floor. We had recently been issued a thermal imaging camera, but forgot to bring it with us. My partner and I inadvertently passed through a hole in the wall between apartments while doing a primary search. This caused us to end up in a different apartment than we had initially entered. The floor collapsed underneath us and fire from below cut off our egress. We were able to find and break a window allowing us to be rescued via a ladder. I had to remove my mask to call for help over the radio and ended up with a severe injury.

A thermal imaging camera would have made all the difference. We lost situational awareness and did not realize that we had passed through the wall, even though both of us commented that the apartment seemed bigger than it appeared from outside. If we had not found the exterior wall and window, this could have easily ended up being two fatalities.