A York-Poquoson deputy who rushed in to save people trapped in a burning mobile home was awarded a life-saving medal from the department during a recent ceremony.
Investigator Wenzel received the award last week for her bravery in helping with a fire in York County earlier this year.
Investigator Wenzel was advised that someone was still inside of the burning structure.
She went to the rear of the trailer to assist people who were attempting to tear the wall down to get to the resident inside.
Wenzel then entered the burning structure and physically removed the victim from the trailer.
The victim was unconscious and not breathing. Wenzel administered CPR until medics took over and transported to the hospital. Wenzel also had to be treated for smoke inhalation.
She and several other officers with the department were recognized during a February awards ceremony at the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office.
Previously:
A fire that destroyed a York County mobile home and sent three people to the hospital Monday was caused by a space heater, an official said.
The fire at the trailer at the Harwood Mills trailer park started when a child was playing with paper near the heater, according to York County Fire and Life Safety Assistant Chief Chris Sadler.
Officials determined the cause after talking to residents of the home, he said.
Space heaters should be kept at least 3 feet away from all objects, including people, Sadler said.
Two residents of the home and a York-Poquoson Sheriff’s deputy were taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and other injuries caused by the fire. The deputy was treated and released from the hospital, sheriff’s office officials said on social media.
Previously: Jan. 25, 2016
An off-duty Williamsburg fire lieutenant, a retired Newport News firefighter, a York-Poquoson sheriff’s deputy and neighbors are being called heroes after they saved a woman from a burning trailer in York County on Monday.
York County firefighters were dispatched to the fire at the Harwood Mills trailer park just after 1 p.m., York County Fire and Life Safety Assistant Chief Chris Sadler said at the scene. The mobile home community is in the 4200 block of George Washington Memorial Highway in Yorktown.
While firefighters were on the way, bystanders saw heavy smoke and flames coming from the trailer and rushed to help. They broke through the trailer’s siding and found the woman on a bed in cardiac arrest. They pulled her outside and immediately started CPR, Sadler said.
“They were in the right place at the right time to make a difference,” he said. “The efforts that they put forth … were just heroic.”
The woman was taken to Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News where she was later reported stable, Sadler said. She is being treated for smoke inhalation, but the extent of her injuries were unknown to fire officials Monday afternoon.
Another woman, who neighbors said is her sister, as well as several small children, were able to get out of the home before firefighters arrived, Sadler said. The sister was taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and lacerations, he said.
Neighbors at the scene recalled how the events unfolded.
Neighbor Eddie Hayes, 55, said he was one of the first bystanders who helped rescue the woman. He said he was sitting inside his home a few doors down when he heard screams. He looked out the window and saw flames coming from the trailer.
He said he yelled to his wife, Gladys, to dial 911, and then he bolted out the door.
Hayes said the sister, who was already outside of the home, pleaded with him to help her sister, who was trapped in a back bedroom. He said he raced toward the back and tried the door, but he could not get it open. He went to the other side and saw the woman inside the bedroom through a small window screaming for help, but she could not fit through it. The fire had not yet reached the back of the trailer, but the flames were spreading quickly, he said. Then he saw her pass out.
“I did not know what to do, man, this woman was going to burn in front of me,” he said. “I’m like, get her out of that trailer. That’s the only thing I knew to do.”
He picked up a two-by-four and started beating on the siding, hoping to break through. He was soon joined by other neighbors, the retired and off-duty firefighters and the sheriff’s deputy.
Williamsburg Fire Department Lt. Barry Kopczynski said he was driving by when he saw smoke and flames from the road. When he got to the trailer on fire, he heard commotion coming from the back and found the neighbors beating on the trailer with the two-by-four. Someone eventually found an ax and used it to cut through the aluminum siding, framing, insulation and paneling, he said.
With the help of Hayes, Kopczynski and two others climbed through the hole and pulled the woman out. She was unconscious and unresponsive, he said. Breathing in the thick, black smoke, they performed CPR on her next to the trailer until other rescuers arrived to take over. The sheriff’s deputy suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to the hospital for treatment, according to Sadler.
Kopczynski said he was assessed at the scene for smoke inhalation, but after receiving oxygen, the carbon monoxide from the smoke cleared out of his system.
“You get carbon monoxide in you … that’s a silent killer,” he said.
Kopczynski said he knew he was at risk, but he felt like he was just doing his job.
“It’s what we do as firefighters. I’m not going to let anyone die,” he said.
The woman was fortunate that trained rescuers were in the area to provide medical attention as quickly as they did, he said. But Kopczynski said the true heroes are her neighbors.
“The people at the trailer park … were working hard to get her out,” he said. “Three-quarters of that trailer was on fire … it would have been a matter of time before that part was on fire.
“I was (just) one of quite a few who saved her life,” he said.
Neighbor Catherine Thrower, 60, said she learned of the fire when she heard screams and saw the sister who escaped on her own outside, with blood on her arms, lowering children out through a window. She said she thinks the sister cut her arms when she broke the window to escape. The children were barefoot, Thrower said, so she brought out blankets and put them in her vehicle to stay warm until help arrived.
The American Red Cross was called to assist three adults, five children and a dog displaced by the fire, according to Sadler. The trailer is a total loss, he said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Newport News and Hampton fire departments assisted with the response and helped backfill York County fire stations while crews responded.
The mutual aid was especially needed as York firefighters were responding to another fire when this one was dispatched, Sadler said.
In that incident, a detached garage suffered fire damage after a vehicle inside caught on fire. No injuries were reported, he said.
Ketchum can be reached by phone at 757-247-7478.
