CALEDONIA, Wis. (AP) -- Paramedics making a side trip back to their station from a run to the hospital spotted a man whose clothing had caught fire and saved him from serious injuries.
Andy Delgado, 20, had fallen from a riding lawnmower that rolled over and caught fire, and the flames spread to his clothing, according to the Caledonia Fire Department.
After fire Lt. Kimberly Hays spotted Delgado just before 4 p.m. Tuesday, she and paramedic Walter Leininger and firefighter Andy Moxon smothered the flames with a blanket and fire extinguisher.
The rescuers took the victim to the hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
``It caught us by surprise, seeing this gentlemen on the side of the road,'' Hays said. ``Imagine spotting someone on fire while driving your car. ... It took us a second to see what was going on, but we jumped out of the squad and did what we could for him.''
The rescuers had taken a different route than usual from the hospital to the station because they had planned to conduct a fire inspection.
``It was definitely his lucky day that we headed back that way,'' Hays said.
Other firefighters were also called and quickly put out the lawn tractor fire, which had spread to nearby brush.
