Medina County firefighters rescued two people and a dog from a house fire in Devine, Texas, using heroic measures on Sunday afternoon.
SAN ANTONIO — Medina County firefighters heroically rescued two people and a dog trapped in a house fire in Devine, Texas Sunday afternoon, according to the department.
Firefighters were called to a structure fire on Teal Drive with reports of two people trapped inside.
According to the Medina County ESD1 FIRE/EMS’s Facebook post, fire crews arrived to heavy flames coming from the front door and bedroom. Crews were initially able to locate one victim inside the home and get them to safety.
The department says a firefighter, identified as Vasquez, entered the home through the side window in a technique referred to as the “Vent Entry Search” (VES) without the protection of a hose line and limited visibility. The firefighter was able to locate the second victim on the floor, who was reportedly unresponsive in the hallway. The firefighter then dragged the victim to the window and brought them to safety. The victim was taken to a local hospital’s burn unit but is expected to survive.
According to the post, firefighters then continued to extinguish the fire and eventually located the family dog, which was suffering from smoke inhalation. Once the dog was brought outside, crews administered oxygen to the dog using a special mask and transferred them to animal control.
The Facebook post praised all of the the firefighters for their actions.
“Outstanding job by Engine 20s crew Lt Wells and FF Vasquez arriving with limited initial personnel and challenging conditions of two victims trapped and rapidly growing fire. These two performed heroically allowing the successful rescue of two victims and an animal with no injuries to any responders, we could not be more proud of their actions this afternoon and the assistance provided by Natalia station 50.”