Winston-Salem, NC -- A firefighter who fell through a floor while fighting a house fire this weekend said he's happy to be alive and thankful for his co-workers.

"I feel very fortunate," said Winston-Salem Fire Captain Darron Southern. "The good Lord was looking out for me. It was bad enough to fall down and fall eight feet. But, to only receive a bruised shoulder, I feel very fortunate."

Capt. Southern was injured Sunday after responding to a house fire on Yale Avenue in Winston-Salem. When the crew had the fire under control from the outside, they went inside. And, with no one being inside the house to tell the firefighters it was all clear, Capt. Southern went inside to search.

Southern sid he crawled into a bedroom, not realizing the floor had collapsed and fell eight feet to the basement. Luckily, the flames had already been put out.

Firefighters inside the house were able to rescue Capt. Southern and took him to Forsyth Medical Center. Southern said said it's a hazard of the job that they are trained for it.

"When I did fall through the floor everyone did their job, stepped right up, and I wasn't in the basement more than 20-30 seconds, and I was out."

Capt. Southern said in his 17 years with the WSFD, he's never fallen through a floor. He said his injuries could have been a lot worse.

WFMY News 2