Quick work by local firefighters save woman’s life

VIENNA, Ohio (WKBN) — How often do you hear, “seconds count in an emergency”? There was a fire Tuesday in Vienna, and the emergency response included having the right people in the right places at the right time.

At a fire call in Vienna Tuesday afternoon, the rush was on at the scene, including fire Chief Richard Brannon.

“I got on my hands and knees, we’ve got about 10 feet inside the kitchen,” Brannon said. “The smoke was almost all the way to the floor.”

Police officer Brian Darby had grabbed a fire extinguisher and was also there to find a woman named Beverly. The fire was put out, but the smoke was making this a dangerous situation and a difficult rescue.

“As soon as I opened the door, it kind of pushed me back a little bit, but we knew she was in there somewhere, and we could hear her,” Darby said.

The distance from the police station to the fire station to the house is about 100 yards.

The woman in her 80s had made it to the front of the house, but she and her walker were blocking the front door. It took another approach. Travis Birch busted a glass window. Tim Podgorny grabbed a piece of carpet and laid it over the broken glass. And Darby was there to assist.

“Travis just bear hugged her, and we grabbed her legs and we pulled her out the front, you know, the front door window,” Darby said.

“They said when they broke the window and looked in there, she was sitting on the floor next to the door, you know, waiting for us to grab her, I guess,” Brannon said. “I can imagine it was very terrifying for her.”

The woman was carried down the porch stairs where paramedics took over. She was talking to first responders before she was taken to the hospital. Her dog Sparky was moved to a shaded area of the backyard and is doing OK.

“Just a typical day,” Darby said. “I mean, we’re just lucky we’re here and we [were] lucky. We got her out, and everybody goes home, everybody’s safe.”

The fire had originated on the stove. The woman said she had been cooking eggs.

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