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Fire chief returning from LODD funeral rescues woman from burning car

The woman, who is expected to be OK, was experiencing a medical emergency

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PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. — An assistant fire chief is being hailed as a hero for his quick thinking after pulling a woman from a burning vehicle.

WJLA.com reported that Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Assistant Fire Chief Darren Ware and other PGFD personnel were returning home from funeral services for slain firefighter-medic Lieutenant John “Skillet” Ulmschneider when they saw a burning car on the side of a road and found a woman in the driver’s seat.

“I hit on the window and said, ‘Open the door.’ And quickly, I realized that wasn’t going to happen,” Chief Ware, a 21-year veteran of the department, said.

The woman was experiencing a medical emergency.

Retired Deputy Fire Chief Tyrone Wells and a Good Samaritan also stopped to help. They broke through the driver side window and tried to pull the woman out.

“She inadvertently stepped on the gas pedal and caused the vehicle to move and shift further down the embankment,” Chief Ware said. “As you can expect, we were moving at 100 miles per hour.”

They eventually pulled her to safety through the passenger side window. A few minutes later, the car was fully engulfed in flames.

PGFD said the woman is expected to be OK; her medical episode didn’t appear to be life-threatening.

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