By Steven Beardsley
The Naples Daily News
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. — The future looks bright for Jason Burgess.
Ten months into his probationary period as a Bonita Springs firefighter, the 38-year-old coolly handled a situation that many firefighters never face in a career.
Burgess saved a 92-year-old retiree when he pulled the man out of a burning room in a Fort Myers retirement home.
“I saw (his) silhouette, and I said, ‘I’m a firefighter, sir.’ And he said, ‘I’m hot, help me!’ ” Burgess recalled.
The firefighter wasn’t even on duty — Burgess was fishing on a pontoon boat when the blaze began.
The fire victim, Herbert Hansen, is listed in serious condition at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers. He suffered burns to his legs and arms, according to Lauri McMahon, spokeswoman for the Iona-McGregor fire district, which responded to the call.
Burgess called the rescue a team effort.
With two other couples - neighbors Jerry and Gail Gray and friends Mark and Julia Owens - Burgess and fiancé Erica Schatz were fishing around the Caloosahatchee River when the fire alarm rang out.
The boat was in a canal adjacent to Shell Point Retirement Community in Fort Myers, the origin of the alarm. Smoke was immediately visible from the building.
As others phoned 911, the boat’s owner, Jerry Gray, guided the craft to the nearby sea wall, where Burgess, Schatz and Mark Owens moved toward the apartment complex.
“Once I got to the sea wall, I jumped off and just ran,” Burgess said.
They were directed to a second-floor apartment filling with smoke. Burgess ran inside. Through a door leading to the back lanai, he saw Hansen, seated on a burning sofa.
The cause of the fire or the reason Hansen couldn’t move are unclear.
Burgess lifted him, placing him over his shoulder, and moved out of the house to the calls of his friend, Mark Owens.
He placed Hansen on the landing outside as Iona-McGregor firefighters approached.
Hansen thanked the men for their aid, Burgess said.
“He told Mark and I he was going to get us a nice bottle of wine and a steak dinner,” Burgess said.
Bonita Springs Fire Chief Phil Kinsey joined fire commissioners at a Monday district meeting in lauding Burgess’ efforts.
“This act in and of itself requires courage when we are prepared and protected as much as possible,” Kinsey said. “Firefighter Burgess did this off-duty and unprotected.”
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