An onlooker helped an Oregon grandmother escape from a house fire last month after she slipped down her stairs and became immobilized.
KPTV reported that Kai Brown of West Linn, Oregon, contacted emergency services after he spotted a fire in his home.
He told the outlet he climbed to the top of the house’s stairs to warn his grandmother, Jennie Brown, to evacuate the house.
“I got to the top of the stairs and I tried to breathe in but it hurt really bad,” Kai said. “I tried to help her down the stairs but she ended up falling.”
Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue wrote that Brown “enlisted the help of a community member who was driving through the neighborhood.”
The community member, Ronnie Coulam, was able to get Jennie Brown to the door, and the first responders removed her from the residence, per KPTV.
Firefighters then took the woman “to the front lawn for further assessment. Then they returned to a hose line and helped bring the fire under control,” according to the fire department, which added, “It was a remarkable outcome, and the woman is alive today because of the quick actions of all involved.”
Tualin Valley Fire and Rescue wrote that both Kai Brown and Coulam were recognized with a certificate and a coin for their lifesaving actions.
The fire department posted pictures from a reunion at the firestation – “filled with hugs, handshakes, and a few teary eyes” – noting “firefighters rarely get the chance to follow up and meet with the people they’ve helped.”
In April, as Breitbart News noted, three Missouri firefighters were honored for rescuing a unconscious ten-year-old girl in January. The girl reportedly contacted emergency services and indicated she was unable to escape the burning house. The firefighters each received the Medal of Valor decoration at an event that month.