Feb. 04--An off-duty firefighter, a retired fire captain and another man helped rescue a teen and an elderly man from a burning vehicle near Exeter, the Tulare County Fire Department said Monday.
About 8:45 a.m. Sunday, a white pickup heading south on Anderson Road west of Exeter hit the driver's side of an SUV as it pulled out of a driveway onto the road in heavy fog.
The driver of the SUV, 17, and the passenger were knocked unconscious, the Fire Department said. The driver suffered third-degree burns on 40% to 50% of his body and was airlifted to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, Tulare County Fire Battalion Chief Mike Green said.
The accident happened in front of the homes of on-call Tulare County firefighter Clay Lyons and retired Cal Fire Capt. Sid Regehr on the 800 block of South Anderson Road, and near property being visited by Manuel Garcia, Green said.
Lyons called 911 and Garcia checked on the victims. Both people in the pickup had minor injuries, but a fire had started in the engine compartment of the SUV and was spreading.
Lyons put on his fire gear and Garcia helped the elderly man, who started to regain consciousness, get out through the passenger-side window.
Regehr arrived with a fire extinguisher and Lyons used it to put out the fire around the teen's chest and head, but a small fire was still burning around his legs. The teen regained consciousness and started moving away from the fire and was helped out through the passenger-side window by Lyons and Garcia.
When the Fire Department and ambulance arrived, the teen was taken to Lemon Cove where skies were clear and he was airlifted from there.
The names of the victims were not available.
The reporter can be reached at (559) 441-6104, [email protected] or @fb_LewGriswold on Twitter.
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