Some people put their lives on the line for others without a second thought – it’s just how they’re built.
Petersburg, Virginia firefighter Chris Lawrence is one of those people. That’s what makes him such as good firefighter – and a good neighbor!
Helping out a neighbor
Lawrence wasn’t even on duty on the night of his heroics in Prince George County.
It all started when he helped out an elderly neighbor earlier in the evening.
“I helped him get in the bed and get him in the house. I told him I’d come back around… and check on him to make sure he was still sleep or still in bed,” Lawrence told WTVR News.
But 30 minutes later, his neighbor needed a bigger assist.
Something’s amiss
Lawrence headed out to check on the neighbor and saw something that made him leap into action. His neighbor’s blinds were missing.
But that wasn’t all. The kitchen was on fire.
“I took a few steps towards the house and that’s when I noticed the plastic blinds had fallen inside the kitchen — and the kitchen was on fire at that point,” Lawrence said.
So the firefighter did what first responders are trained to do – he rushed towards the danger.
Lucky to be alive
But the off-duty firefighter had no gear. Even so, he rushed in to save his elderly neighbor knowing that the man was in his 90s and unlikely to get out on his own.
“It never crossed my mind not to go in, maybe it should of, but it didn’t. I knew he was in there,” he said. “I do remember it was a ton of smoke, it was hot, but we were down as low as I could go, we came down the porch and went to the front yard.”
Lawrence arrived just in time – and yet a bit too late. The man was already burned, but he was still alive.
The firefighter held him on the front lawn to comfort him until the Prince George Fire and EMS crews could arrive on the scene.
Knowledge and instinct
While his actions were heroic, Lawrence doesn’t necessarily recommend that you try this at home. He is trained in rescuing people from fires, after all.
“I hope nobody ever has to do it, but I hope you have some knowledge and some instinct to pull back on,” he explained. “Because that’s the only thing that saved us, I can tell ya.”
His lack of gear means he didn’t get out unscathed either. He was rushed to an area hospital while his neighbor was rushed to VCU Medical Center for burn treatment.
The last update on the heroic attempt came from Lawrence’s local news interview:
“I talked to the burn unit this afternoon and he is in stable condition, so that was good news for us,” he said.
Acknowledging a hero
Aside from the kudos he received on behalf of thankful citizens everywhere, Captain Chris Lawrence also won the National Grand Prize Winner of the First Responders Caring Award.
Captain Chris Lawrence of the Petersburg Fire Department is the National Grand Prize Winner of the First Responders Caring Award
Courtesy: Chief MillerPosted by Petersburg Solution on Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Certainly a well-deserved honor for a man who put his life on the line to save a neighbor.
Be sure to scroll down below to hear from the heroic firefighter himself and see scenes from the near tragedy.
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