Firefighters tested for plague after house check leaves them coated with fleas

Waterbury firefighters treated for flea bites 

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) - A routine check of an abandoned Waterbury home became a hazardous materials situation when four city firefighters were overrun by fleas and had to be tested for bubonic plague and other diseases.

Fire Chief David Martin said Thursday that all the firefighters appear to be OK and are back at work.

The firefighters checked out the Taylor Street home after a nearby medical call Tuesday and noticed fleas all over them while riding back to the station in a fire truck. They were brought to Saint Mary's Hospital, where they had to take off their clothes in the parking lot and scrub down.

They were tested as a precaution for flea-borne ailments including the bubonic plague, which killed millions of Europeans during the 14th century.

The fire truck was fumigated.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press