A Richmond firefighter is resting at home after falling through a roof while battling an attic fire Wednesday.

Lt. Harold Erbse, a 21-year veteran, fell to the floor at 3408 Breckenridge Drive while carrying an air tank. He wasn't seriously injured.

"I know he's going to be sore," said Chief Mike Crawley of the Richmond Fire Department. Erbse was not hospitalized. "We checked him out at the scene," Crawley said.

Another firefighter nearly stepped through, too, just before Erbse's accident.

"Attics are really horrible," Crawley said. "You have to walk on rafters. He just stepped down (through insulation) and fell to the floor."

Trucks were dispatched to the scene at 12:57 p.m. Wednesday.

Damage to the home was estimated at $15,000. The cause was electrical, said investigator Bobby Farris.

Firefighters were at the scene for nearly two hours.