A Louisiana fire chief is praising three men for heroically rescuing a 67-year-old woman from her burning home on Saturday.
In a press release, the Winnsboro Fire Department said they responded to a reported structure fire in the 2300 block of West Harper Street in Winnsboro, LA, at approximately 2:11 p.m.
Before they arrived on the scene, Anthony Johnson, his brother Traevon Johnson, and their pal Kendarious Moore observed the burning building while driving down the street and immediately took action, KTVE/KARD reported.
“Something was on fire, and then I just told bro to stop the truck,” Anthony said. “He got out went to the house and opened the door and lots of heavy smoke came out.”
The men began calling for 67-year-old Amy Mathis, nicknamed Ms. Lou, who said he was watching TV in bed, according to KTVE/KARD.
“I looked up and smoke was coming out the vent, and by that time three young fellows was coming over there hollering, ‘Ms. Lou, your house on fire,’ and I was just coming down the hall and they come and got me out of there,” Mathis recounted.
“It felt good. ‘Thank you Lord’ was the first thing I said,” she added.
Moore told KNOE that after Mathis was safely out of the residence, they brought her to his grandmother’s house across the road.
When the fire department arrived on the scene with personnel from five crews, firefighters observed heavy smoke emanating from the front of the home, according to the release. Despite their best efforts, the structure was heavily damaged, but no one was injured.
“I wanted to take the time to shine a spotlight on 3 gentlemen that displayed outstanding courage prior to the arrival of our first engine,” Chief Jessie Morris wrote in the release.
He noted that the men entered Mathis’s home “without hesitation” and successfully saved the 67-year-old “from serious injury and almost certain death.”
Morris added:
I wanted to give them special thanks for saving her from serious injury and almost certain death. It takes a lot for an everyday citizen to put themselves in harms way for their neighbor, and these guys were most certainly where God needed them to be. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend. I feel this is the very meaning of the verse written in John 15:13.
Johnson also praised God for making the rescue possible.
“It made me feel good. Everybody needs help. That moment right there, that’s just a dangerous situation,” he told KTVE/KARD. “God just had us at the right place at the right time.”
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the blaze, and Mathis is searching for a new home, according to the outlet.
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