Retired Firefighter Carries Woman from Burning House

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Two off-duty Prince George’s County firefighters rescued a neighbor from a burning house Monday, then administered CPR until the woman was flown to a hospital.

Retired firefighter Thomas Breen, now an executive representative with IAFF Local 1619, noticed his neighbor’s house on fire about 11 a.m. in Owings. The union says ​Breen entered the burning home and removed an unconscious occupant.

​He immediately began CPR and was assisted in resuscitation efforts by off-duty Prince George’s County Fire Department ​Lt. C.J. Smart.

​The trapped resident called 911 to report the fire and said she was having trouble breathing. She was reported in critical condition at MedStar Washington Hospital, according to a news release from the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal.

The two-story house collapsed soon after the woman was rescued from the blaze, reports Southern Maryland Newspapers Online.

Breen told the newspaper he forced his way through the front door when he thought he heard scratching coming from inside the burning house.

Once inside, Breen saw a foot, and stepped out to get fresh air.

“I quickly ducked back into the dwelling, grabbed the victim by the ankles and dragged her to the front porch,” Breen wrote to the news outlet.

Dunkirk firefighters soon arrived to fight the blaze.

»Photo courtesy of Prince Frederick VFD