When Rural/Metro firefighter Dustin Dinwiddie walked into a smoky, flame-filled room at the end of a hallway inside a burning mobile home, he felt something touch his leg.
"I was assigned to the interior attack crew with two other firefighters," Dinwiddie said as he recounted the events of that day. "I was in front, and as we went down the hallway, I had heard a banging."
When Dinwiddie bent down to see what touched his leg, a hand grabbed him and he knew he had found a man who hadn't been able to make it out of the home before the fire started.
"I was surprised. I didn't know what it was," said Dinwiddie, who also works for the Yuma Proving Ground Fire Department. "We didn't know there was still anybody inside. I tapped my partner on the shoulder and pointed to the man."
Dinwiddie and firefighter CJ Campbell quickly picked up the man and carried him out of the burning trailer. Leading them through the heavy smoke and flames were firefighters Micah Huska, Dale Pearson, Gabe Martinez and Ronnie Ruiz, who had also been assigned to go inside.
"It was a team effort. We had him out in less than 30 seconds," said Dinwiddie, who was off-duty at the time but responded to the call. "It was instinct. Every time we train, one of our scenarios involves a rescue."
Meanwhile, firefighters outside the trailer and the rest of the interior crews kept the fire at bay. Once outside, Campbell and Dinwiddie, who are also paramedics, worked to resuscitate the man, who was unresponsive. Within moments, he was breathing on his own and was taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center by Campbell in a Rural/Metro ambulance.
As part of Emergency Medical Services Week, Rural/Metro Fire Department held an award ceremony recognizing those seven firefighters. Each of the men received a plaque and a letter of commendation at the company's Fire Station No. 2 in the Foothills Wednesday morning.
Also recognized was Fire Capt. Joe Rivera, who was the incident commander for the fire. Rivera is also chief of Tacna's volunteer fire department.
Emergency Medical Services Week, which is being celebrated May 20-26, is set aside to show appreciation to emergency medical personnel who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to answer the call of those in need and to honor the dedication they display in providing lifesaving services. The first EMS Week was proclaimed in 1974 by President Gerald R. Ford.
The fire happened on Feb. 24 at home in the 11000 block of South Cardinal Lane. Engine 2 was initially dispatched to the scene as the primary engine with Engine 10, Engine 9, Rescue 2 and off-duty personnel also responding.
Upon arrival, Rivera reported that there was smoke and flames coming from a double-wide trailer and called for assistance from other units. After speaking to one of the residents of the trailer, Rivera was told that someone was still inside the residence.
By this time, however, the interior crews were in the process of getting him out.
Dinwiddie said what makes mobile homes so dangerous is that they burn so quickly, so firefighters don't have much time, especially if they are looking for someone still trapped inside.
"The problem is the entire structure is combustible. So you have to worry about what is burning above and below you."
Copyright 2012 - The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
