A woman whose car caught fire was rescued by two Md. fire officers returning from the funeral of Prince George's County firefighter/medic.
Prince George's County Asst. Fire Chief Darren O. Ware was driving on U.S. 301 when he saw a vehicle on fire, and the driver still inside, according to Mark Brady, PIO.
Retired PGFD Deputy Fire Chief Tyrone Wells spotted the incident, and stopped to assist.
“I immediately ran to the vehicle and attempted to open the door and remove her from the driver door. The door was locked. The occupant looked up at me but was not responsive to my instructions to unlock the door. Chief Wells arrived at that time and with the help of a civilian carrying a heavy hand tool managed to break the drivers side back window and the passenger side front window,” Ware said in a statement.
The driver appeared to be suffering from a medical incident and was not cohesive enough to follow instructions from rescuers.
During the initial extrication attempt, the woman pushed the accelerator causing her vehicle to move forward and further down an embankment. The position of the vehicle prevented extrication from the driver's side of the vehicle.
"Because of the new angle of the vehicle access was attempted through the passenger side front door. I was able to gain access to the patient and pull her through the passenger side window. We were able to get her up the embankment and away from the burning vehicle,” Ware explained.
Others returning from the funeral, Assistant Fire Chief Paul Cruz and Greenbelt Volunteer EMS Sgt. Ashley Kozlowski, also stopped and provided care to the patient until the arrival of medics.
The woman was not hurt, but was suffering from a medical issue.
Brady added: "Had it not been for the quick actions of Assistant Fire Chief Ware, Tyrone Wells and a yet to be identified Good Samaritan citizen, the outcome would have had a tragic ending."
The video was captured by Ware shortly after the rescue.
