July 16--CHESAPEAKE -- Dee Peshel rushed into her South Norfolk neighbor's burning mobile home, black smoke billowing out its windows, to find her friend trying to douse the flames with a glass of water.
She wasn't willing to leave, recalled Peshel, so the 71-year-old retired caterer did the only thing she could: She put her arm around the woman's neck and dragged her out kicking and screaming.
"It was the only way I could get her out the door," Peshel said Monday afternoon as firefighters sprayed what remained of the mobile home with a hose. "I didn't know a 71-year-old lady could do that, but I did."
The neighbor -- her identity couldn't immediately be confirmed by authorities, but Peshel knows her as Kathy Hall -- suffered minor injuries, according to Capt. Scott Saunders, a spokesman for the Fire Department.
She was taken to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center with smoke inhalation, Saunders said.
Two dogs living in the mobile home -- named General Lee and Dixie -- also escaped the blaze, neighbors said.
"It's amazing. It went up like a tinderbox," said Carol Miller, another resident of the Edmonds Corner Mobile Home Park off Battlefield Boulevard.
According to Saunders, the fire in the 2700 block of Ike St. was reported at 3:29 p.m. and was under control 19 minutes later. It was contained to the one structure, but heat damaged several nearby trailers and a pickup. The cause appears to be accidental and possibly related to an electrical issue inside the trailer, Saunders said.
"The heat got incredible," said Chuck Meek, a neighbor across the street. He said he could hear the trailer's propane tanks venting as the fire raged.
While neighbors credited Peshel with saving the woman's life, the grandmother of three was quick to sidestep the praise.
"I'm not a hero," she said. "God got me through."
Saunders said the woman who lived in the mobile home should have left when the fire got out of control.
"It's just property. Everything in that trailer can be replaced," he said.
Saunders had a harder time commenting on what Peshel did.
"We don't recommend anybody run into a burning building," he said, noting firefighters have training and equipment that helps them help people. "But we're not going to say, 'Don't do it,' either."
Scott Daugherty, 757-222-5221, [email protected]
Copyright 2013 - The Virginian-Pilot
