The Hilton Head firefighters who rescued a man trapped by intense fire conditions spoke to local media about their experiences.
“When we came around the back with the ladder he was on the balcony already,” Fire Apparatus Operator Joe Zoffoli told WSAV. "There was heavy smoke and flames coming through the balcony he was knelt down, yelling screaming.”
Zoffoli helped place a 35-foot ladder to the third floor balcony of the condominium building while firefighters inside the building tried to reach the man.
“We were to the point where we didn’t have a lot of options," Hilton Head Capt. Dave Bell told the television station. "It was either back out and in not so many terms admit self defeat or we were going to have to find a way to get through it. By being persistent, by relying on our training up until this point, we got what I like to call kind of a break, and it worked well for us that we were able to stick with it and push through.”
Lt. Jay Lawson said it was probably 1,000 degrees inside the burning unit and that's when firefighters saw daylight and the man on the balcony.
"I could see what looked like a person out on the balcony and that's what we went to," said Bell.
“It was the same time one of the doors had failed and the heat and smoke intensified exponentially,” said Zoffoli, who helped guide the man down the ladder.
Bell and firefighter Jason Karshner shielded themselves from the intense heat until they were able to climb down the ladder.
“We have a saying in the fire department, we risk a lot to save a lot,” Bell said. “This was a textbook situation that fit that.”
The man was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
