Tulsa Firefighter Recovering After Being Attacked Trying To Save Man

A Tulsa man is in jail, accused of attacking a firefighter trying to help him; something firefighters say is becoming more common.

The suspect, Dale Parsons, is now in the Tulsa county jail, and firefighters said not only did he attack the first responder; he has a list of drug-related charges.

Tulsa firefighter Justin Weber is recovering from an attack on the job.

"I got hit it, seems like right here was the first strike, and then there was a few more here to the top part of my head," Weber said.

Firefighters say Parsons kept trying to go back inside a burning home on North Kingston Street while crews put out the flames.

10/4/2016 Related Story: Man Arrested For Attacking Tulsa Firefighter At House Fire

Weber said, "We went in to recover him, and there was still quite a bit of smoke."

But, they said Parsons and another man inside the home weren't having it and put up a fight. Weber said one man shoved him, knocking off his helmet.

That's when Weber says Parsons started beating him in the head with a heavy duty metal flashlight.

As if it's not enough to worry about the risks of running into a burning home, Weber said firefighters increasingly have to watch their backs.

"It has become an unfortunately pretty common thing," he said.

"Well we all know it can happen, it's just a part of dealing with people. You don't get to decide who you help and who you don't help," said Tulsa fire captain, Stan May.

While Weber says this doesn't make him want to help people any less, it does make his job tougher.

"It would be easy to say mad, more frustrated and disappointed. We’re there trying to do a job and protect them, from themselves sometimes, and a lot of times people don't understand what our priorities are," Weber said.
Records show Parsons has a laundry list of felony convictions and drug charges.

Firefighters say there were drugs and paraphernalia found in the home. They believe Parsons was trying to get back inside to get them.

The other two men inside the home ran off and police are looking for them.