LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A South County firefighter injured Monday in the fire that destroyed the Middletown Hardester’s Market has been released from the hospital.

Cal Fire firefighter Justin Costa was released from the UC Davis Medical Center burn center in Sacramento on Wednesday afternoon, Cal Fire reported.

Officials said Costa currently is resting at home.

On Monday afternoon Costa was on the first engine reported to have arrived at the scene of the fire in downtown Middletown.

He went into the building and was burned, and another firefighter and California Highway Patrol Officer Efrain Cortez pulled him to safety once he emerged.

Costa, a paid call firefighter who works for both Cal Fire and South Lake County Fire Protection District, was reported to have suffered second- and third-degree burns in the fire.

The Hardester’s building was a total loss.

A Cal Fire Serious Accident Review Team is currently investigating the fire, the cause of which remains under investigation, Cal Fire said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.