SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- A Somerville resident was hospitalized after what appeared to be a freak accident at a fire scene overnight when a fire truck hose snapped and hit a street sign that struck him in the head.

Fire crews were responding to a two-alarm house fire at 10 Fisk Ave. about 12:45 a.m. when the fire hose took down a fence in a nearby yard at the corner of Fisk and Hinckley Street.

Fire officials said the hose, which was still attached to a hydrant, also took down a sign, which struck the resident, identified as Baljit Singh, 48, in the head.

Singh's sister told NewsCenter 5 that he suffered a fractured neck and a 6-inch gash on his head but was expected to recover. She said at first, they did not understand how he had been hurt.

"We had no idea. We just came out and we saw the fence broken and him on the floor," said his sister, Manpreet Kalia.

Singh was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. He was said to be a father of two.

Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher said the hose became entangled in another truck's rear wheel and that's what caused the problem.

"Four-and-a-half-inch hose line that was running from that hydrant wrapped around the rear axle of the truck. That then wrenched the fire hydrant around, roughly about 145 degrees. Then, the hose broke off at the coupling with the hydrant. That snapped," said Somerville city spokesman Michael Meehan.

The force of the hose was so strong it took two street signs out. One landed in the yard and the other hit Singh in the head as he stood outside his home.

"He have two big cuts on his head. I saw the blood on his head and his wife was screaming," said his neighbor Leao DeSouza.

"We are very concerned about the individual. We are in the business of helping people not hurting them," Kelleher said.

Another firefighter was at the hydrant waiting to send water flowing, officials said. He was knocked in into the air and landed on the ground but was not injured.

As for the fire, everyone got out OK. It was not clear what sparked the blaze, which started in the basement of the single-family house.