A partially paralyzed man was rescued from the balcony of his burning home by Racine firefighters Tuesday afternoon.
Bright orange flames could be seen coming from the second-floor window after the fire broke out at 1322 Chatham Drive shortly after 2 p.m., according to The Journal Times.
Pete Lui pressed himself up against the railing in an attempt to keep himself as far away from the fire as possible.
His next-door neighbor, Sabrina Martinez, called 911 at after smelling the smoke.
Before firefighters arrived, neighbors attempted to save the man.
One neighbor grabbed a ladder and Sabrina's husband, Edwardo, climbed it in hopes of reaching the man as another neighbor sprayed water from a hose to buy them more time.
Lui told the man he didn't want to hurt himself or anyone else and by that time, fire crews had arrived on the scene.
Racine firefighters climbed up to Lui and one of them cradled the man as he made his way down a ladder.
Lui was transported to Wheaton Franciscan-All Saints Hospital and was later transferred to the burn unit at Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee.
The fire caused an estimated $65,000 in structural damage to the house and no smoke alarms were found in the building.
Fire officials said the blaze was caused by the careless use of smoking materials.
