LYNCHBURG, Va. – A local firefighter is being called a hero on social media for pulling two people from a burning car in Appomattox County.
The first responder says he’s anything but that.
“What I did had nothing to do with being a fireman, had nothing to do with the training that I’ve been through; just had everything to do with being a decent human being and seeing two people that needed some help,” said Chad Reeves, a full-time firefighter in Lynchburg and chief of the Red House Volunteer Fire Department in Charlotte County.
Reeves had just finished an overnight shift in Lynchburg and was traveling home Sunday morning.
While driving through Appomattox County, he noticed a car on fire.
He says he called 911, but with no one else around, he jumped into action.
“When I opened the door, the car was full of smoke. I couldn’t see in the car really well. There was some fire starting to come up between the windshield and the dashboard,” Reeves said.
The first responder adds he was able to unbuckle an elderly woman from the driver’s seat, pull her out of the embankment and back onto the road.
“Once I got her up there, she told me that her husband was in there, to please get her husband out. I initially didn’t see him to start with.”
The fireman says he struggled to open the door, but able to unbuckle the man and pull him to safety, too.
Being hailed a hero on social media for his perfect timing, Reeves believes it was divine intervention.
“God’s good and was looking down on all of us [Sunday] morning.”
Reeves says the elderly couple was medically cleared and returned home that afternoon.