The thirty minutes passed and Chris started walking towards his neighbor’s house. When Chris walked into his neighbor’s yard, he noticed something strange: the plastic blinds on his neighbor’s kitchen window were askew.
Looking closely, Chris noticed a flashing orange light emanating from the kitchen. As an experienced firefighter, Chris immediately knew the house was on fire.
At first, Chris went to work. As the front door fell, Chris was greeted by a wave of smoke and intense heat. When he found his neighbour, he chased him out of the house, which caught fire.
Gently laying his neighbor down on the grass, Chris saw that the old man had several severe burns all over his body. Chris called the rescuers and stayed with his neighbor until paramedics arrived to take him to hospital. Emergency personnel also asked Chris to go to the hospital to make sure he hadn’t been injured during the rescue.
News of Chris’ heroism spread throughout Prince George’s County, with national media picking up the story. Chris recounted the incident to WTVR and was asked how he felt about entering the burning house without any of the usual firefighting equipment.
Chris replied to WTVR: “It never crossed my mind not to go in there, maybe it should, but it’s not.”
Chris also notes that part of his training reminded him to stay as low as possible when moving through the burning house.
While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, Chris’ neighbor is expected to recover from the injuries he sustained in the fire. Chris visits the hospital regularly and is happy to report that his neighbor’s condition has become stable.
