ATHENS, Tenn. — State Rep. Mike Bell, R-Niota, said he expects to miss at least a week’s worth of committee meetings as he recovers from surgery after breaking his leg over the weekend.

Rep. Bell, whose District 23 includes McMinn and part of Monroe counties, said he broke his femur while fighting a house fire in rural McMinn County. He is a volunteer with the Claxton Fire Department.

He said he won’t be able to drive for at least a month but plans to be back in Nashville within a week.

“(Speaker of the House) Jimmy Naifeh called me and said they can have a motorized wheelchair or whatever I need to get around,” Rep. Bell said in a telephone interview Monday.

He said he was knocked down by a fire hose at a house fire on U.S. Highway 411.

“The 2-inch line was feeding off the back of the engine when something caught and it suddenly straightened out,” he said. The hose hit him and knocked him into the air. He landed on his hip and said he knew immediately what had happened.

Rep. Bell said members of the Claxton and Etowah fire departments stabilized him. He rode by ambulance to Woods Memorial Hospital in Etowah, and then to SkyRidge Medical Center in Cleveland, Tenn., for surgery.

He said doctors told him they used screws and plates on his leg and everything went as planned. He said he’ll continue as a volunteer firefighter when his leg has healed.

McMinn County Fire Chief Scott Thompson called the incident a freak accident.

Rep. Bell said he will stay in touch with his assistant in Nashville while he recuperates.