Lake Mary, Fla. Firefighter/Paramedic Ryan Cooper was standing in his driveway in Sanford, Fla. on July 10, 2007, the morning after working overtime the night before.
Having lived in the area for a while, he was used to hearing planes buzzing above going to and from the nearby airport. But this time he heard something that didn't sound right.
"I heard something very wrong. By the time I looked up I saw the plane coming through the trees and crash into two houses," he said.
The houses were located across the street, not far from where he was standing. Cooper took his turnout gear that he brought home with him out of his car and called 911.
"When I went to the first house, the mother was standing out front. I found the 10-year-old boy standing a few feet in and saw the father farther back," he said. "The conditions inside were darn near fully involved. It was hot and smoky; you couldn't see anything."
As the house started to collapse, he retreated and made his way to the second house. Neighbors outside said everyone was inside.
Cooper couldn't find anyone in the first two rooms and couldn't advance into the house. He said he went back in to search the two rooms four or five times.
"I went back in as far as I could and got disoriented. I heard a Sanford police officer hollering at me. I followed his voice to the front door," he said.
When Cooper made his way out of the house, he began assisting crews with the boy and made sure the boy and his father and mother were transported to the hospital.
Five people, including the two people on board the plane were killed.
When the incident concluded, Cooper began experiencing shortness of breath and was transported to a hospital where we would spend four days in intensive care.
Since Cooper went in without an SCBA, he was exposed to the smoke that engulfed the two houses. He said, however, that it didn't impede his efforts.
"I would have gone in without my bunker gear if I had to," he said. "I think any of us would."
Cooper said that while he wouldn't have changed a thing, the incident had a negative effect on his life. Soon after, he and his wife would get a divorce.
"With an incident like that, happening so close to home -- so close to your safe place -- and having to see your husband put in that situation; it was very difficult for her to deal with it."
Cooper has been honored by his department and now by Firehouse Magazine, but to him, those awards aren't what matters.
"I think that just the people I helped that day validate it for me. All the awards and that stuff don't mean that much," he said. "I would still do the same thing today; all of us would do the same thing."
