Houston firefighters were dispatched to a building on fire around 2 a.m. Friday, January 6 to the Kwik Kar Lube & Tune in West Houston.
Firefighters were attempting to extinguish the fire when they heard a voice from inside the building. The fire crews used a sledgehammer to break through a brick wall to reach the victim inside. Firefighters located an unresponsive man in an area just behind the wall. When Captain Willingham leaned into the hole for further inspection, the victim pulled out a knife and proceeded to stab the fire captain in his face.
Houston police officers worked for 30 minutes to convince the man to come out from the building without further incident. The 34-year-old man was taken to the hospital after suffering smoke inhalation. Charges are expected in the coming days for aggravated assault of a public servant.
Captain Willingham was rushed into emergency surgery on Friday morning due to the stab wound in his eye. Willingham is currently listed in stable condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital.
Willingham, is a 14-year veteran of the Houston Fire Department, father of three, and is also a volunteer fire fighter in Sealy Texas.
