By Bill Carey
FireRescue1 Staff
POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Polk County firefighters rescued a man trapped in a burning mobile home on June 3.
Firefighters responded to a medical call that escalated into a structure fire with a trapped victim. Unable to gain entry through a front door, firefighters went to a side window. They removed plywood and glass but found their path blocked by materials stacked from floor to ceiling, The Ledger reported.
The trapped man had his head protruding from a bathroom window saying he could not breathe. Battalion Chief Ramon Gonzalez gave the man the facepiece from his SCBA while firefighters tried to gain access to him.
Firefighters then went to the bathroom window and cut a larger opening below the window, rescuing the trapped man. “It is indescribable how it feels to save someone’s life,” Gonzalez said. “Every single one of those firefighters was integral in helping rescue that gentleman.”
The man and another person were transported to local trauma centers.