Two civilians rushed to help a man trapped in a burning car after it hit a house in a San Diego neighborhood.
“There was no time to think, just instinct,” said Scott Dickerson, who along with another neighbor, Anthony Mattioni, ran to help when they saw the vehicle on fire. Their actions escalated once they realized someone may be inside.
They used a fire extinguisher and a garden hose to quell the flames.
“I open (sic) the door behind him and start shaking him violently...no response but I could tell he was alive by the way he was moving. So we continued to go to work,” Mattioni told Fox 5.
San Diego Battalion Chief Matt Moe praised their willingness to act. “Any efforts that we get from civilians that are able to jump in and make heroic acts. Of course they are doing the best they can to be able to help out...I’m sure it helped out as much as possible.”
Firefighters had to remove the roof of the car to get the man out as it came to rest between houses.
The crew aboard a fire department helicopter was returning from another call when they saw the fire and called it in.
