Trending Topics

Off-duty firefighter saves neighbor who caught fire in burning home

Danny Atlas said he saw his elderly neighbor “completely on fire” as she tried to extinguish her clothes with a water spigot

By FireRescue1 Staff

WASHINGTON — An off-duty firefighter saved his neighbor whose clothes had caught fire in her burning home.

NBC Washington reported that Danny Atlas jumped into action after being woken up by a woman screaming outside of his home.

“I just saw my neighbor completely on fire,” Atlas said.

The elderly neighbor was trying to extinguish her clothing with a water spigot when Atlas helped roll her to smother the flames before giving her first aid. She was later transported to the hospital in critical condition.

When Atlas realized her house was on fire as well, he grabbed his extinguisher and contained the fire to inside the home.

Fire officials said Atlas may have saved other houses from being burned by his quick actions.

“It’s kind of an odd profession. We never want bad things to happen,” Atlas said. "[But] we want to be close by when they’re happening. When you’re by yourself, out of a dead sleep in your own home, it’s a little bit different.”

https://twitter.com/nbcwashington/status/958026921643831297

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU