A husband and wife are being called heroes after rescuing a woman from inside her burning vehicle this week in Waller, Texas.
Firefighter Michael Mathes said he was pulling into his driveway when he heard a loud boom come from down the road. The off-duty fireman looked behind him and saw a wrecked car sitting in a ditch with a woman inside it.
Mathes sprang into action and drove back toward the scene. By the time he arrived, the vehicle had caught on fire.
“The flames were already starting to come over the windshield of the car so (I) didn’t have much time to think about anything than to get her out,” said Mathes, who is also a veteran.
“I’m telling you … that car, it went up quick,” he stated.
His wife, who is also a firefighter, saw what was happening and rushed to help her husband save the woman’s life. As the flames grew, Mathes put his arms around the unconscious driver in an attempt to get her out before it was too late.
“I had to, like, move her, get the seat belt undone and try to do both before the flames got both of us,” he recalled.
“Everything was popping off,” Christina Mathes said of the harrowing incident. “Pieces were flying, so I helped him and we drug her further back.”
KHOU reporter Janelle Bludau tweeted photos of the wreckage Tuesday.
Once rescue crews arrived at the scene, Mathes said he felt extremely emotional due to the intensity of the situation.
“I broke down in front of everybody just because the adrenaline. Just knowing that it could’ve been a lot worse than what it was, especially for her, no one deserves to have that happen to them. I just think the Lord put me in the right place in the right time to make sure she had a second chance,” he commented.
The woman was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for internal bleeding and multiple fractures, according to KHOU.
Christina described the fast-growing blaze as “Hollywood-like,” and said her and her husband’s actions were all due to instinct.
“It kicks in and you’ve got a job to do,” she concluded.
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