Firefighters never know exactly what they will find when they go into a burning building, especially when there are people still trapped inside. One Pennslyvannia crew put all their skills to work while working a duplex fire.
Saving a Life
Around 5:50 p.m., fire crews pulled up to a home on the 400 block of West Simpson Street. The home was a duplex with fire pouring out of the back. Mechanicsburg Fire Department Chief Gary Neff and his crew were the first onsite.
They heard that there was a fire victim inside the front while one more person was missing. Neff said the firefighters began attacking the flames, however, they also heroicly rescued the man inside the building.
Neff said, " We were able to bring him out." EMS was able to reivie the man who was in cardiac arrest at the time he was brought out. According to Neff, the man is recovering. The other person who was missing in the blaze was found, leaving no one unaccounted for.
Neff did not have a total number of people from the duplex. Authorities also have not discovered what the man's relationship was to the other people in the home.
While all the humans are accounted for, there is still one dog missing.
Additional Crews Used
Neff needed help from more fire crews due to the search for the missing people and the breadth of the fire itself.
"We had one victim already in the door, and I had to help get him out, and we were working on the second one, so we automatically called it.”
Chief Neff
Help came quickly since some crews were already around 20 minutes away at the scene of a crash on Interstate 81. The crash had happened earlier, so a handful of units were already done.
Dozens of firefighters were onsite with some coming from Shermans Dale and Perry County.
Citizen Assistance
Nieghbors helped to redirect traffic away from their area, blocking the roads with trash cans or standing in the road. Investigators are still working on determining the cause of the fire.
According to Neff, the state police fire marshal has been requested. Neff was thankful for the firefighters who pitched in to put out the fire and rescue the two people.
"It was a true example of heroic firefighters and at the same time a wonder true example of support of mutual aid."
