Watch: Victim Rescued Through Basement of York Twp., OH, House Fire
Firefighters and sheriff's deputies worked together to rescue a woman trapped in the basement of a York Township (Medina County) woman as flames engulfed the home above her earlier this week.
Multiple fire agencies responded, along with Medina County Sheriff’s deputies to the home around 10:50 a.m. Wednesday where a woman stayed on the line with 9-1-1 operators during the frantic rescue effort.
The 31-year-old woman cried to dispatchers, "Oh my God," as rescuers worked to free her, according to Cleveland19.com.
Officials said the fire started in a detached garage and steady winds spread to the home by the time firefighters arrived.
Dispatchers stayed on the line with the woman, until they determined her location, and they were able to find a narrow basement window to find her. They broke the window but found she was unable to reach the windowsill to be pulled out.
The video shows deputies and firefighters finally locating the basement window that was only a foot to 18 inches wide and covered by brush. Firefighters yelled for the homeowner to step back so they could break the window.
That's when the Medina Fire Chief Larry Walters made the heroic decision to enter the basement and was able to then boost her out," Erhrt-York Township Fire Chief Jason Creamer told the television station.
In the video, Walters entered tight window space as the woman called for help.
He boosted her to the window where life-saving hands from firefighters and law enforcement pulled her out the window.
She was treated at the hospital for smoke inhalation and then released.
Six of the responders were treated at local hospitals for various minor injuries, officials said.
"This incident serves as a reminder to the critical nature of each component of the safety services environment. Dispatchers, law enforcement and fire personnel all played a vital role in saving the individual from an extremely peril situation," Creamer said.
Several pets perished in the fire.
