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Hometown Hero: Man Saves Neighbor From Trailer Fire
Posted: Sep 16, 2012 9:15 PM by Mitch Bryan
Updated: Sep 17, 2012 12:43 AM
SWINNEY SWITCH - A fire burns a mobile home in Swinney Switch. But thanks to the quick thinking of a firefighter who lives next door to the home, the woman inside made it out alive.
Tonight a hero stands tall after saving his neighbor and good friend from certain death in a trailer fire on Lakepark Circle in Swinney Switch, Texas. Around 1am. Alton Wright and his wife were fast asleep when their dog, Baby, started raising a ruckus.
"It was just going crazy and going crazy. And I jumped up to look and it looked like there were 50 spotlights in the window in my house," said Wright.
But it wasn't spotlights, it was an intense blaze burning next door. Alton ran outside to find his neighbor, 78 year old, Ruth Keene's house completely engulfed in flames.
Wright has been a volunteer fire fighter in Swinney Switch for only a year but when he saw the flames shooting from his neighbor's house, his training took over. Completely ignoring his own safety, Alton grabbed his fire gear and ran up to Ruth's front door.
Alton told me, "I just kicked as hard as I could and I kicked. I used my right foot and the door just fell in like normal."
With the door in splinters, Alton faced his next obstacle, the thick blanket of smoke pouring from the trailer.
"And the smoke was just boiling and boiling. I'm yelling Ruth and I can't hear nothing. So I get down and there's about that much space dude," said Wright.
Alton crawled inside under the smoke, but Ruth wasn't answering him. Luckily he spotted her arm through the haze and grabbed her out of bed.
"And I pulled and I pulled and I couldn't do it. So I had to take as deep a breath as I could and I pulled and got her around the corner," said Wright.
He got her outside and found out she wasn't breathing. He started CPR and suddenly Ruth took her first clear breath in several minutes. She was alive.
Alton said, "I saw a paramedic and I just kind of laid down and passed out."
Ruth was rushed to the hospital and then to the San Antonio Burn Unit. She is expected to be okay. Thanks to an amazing neighbor and friend.
Alton spent some time in the hospital being treated for smoke inhalation, but he's back home tonight, getting some much deserved rest.
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