Good Samaritan Rescues Two People From Burning Catoosa Home

Sunday, January 7th 2007, 4:38 pm

By: News On 6

Green Country firefighters say a Good Samaritan and some quick thinking may have helped to save lives during two separate fires. News on 6 reporter Chris Wright has more on what turned out to be a busy Saturday night for area firefighters.

Authorities say a passerby helped rescue two people from a burning house in Catoosa, while in Tulsa firefighters were forced to use a defibrillator to save one of their own.

A Catoosa home became entirely engulfed in flames shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday. The couple who lives there was asleep when the fire broke out, but authorities say a passerby knocked on their door and alerted them to the flames.

Both escaped without injury.

In Tulsa Saturday night, what started out as a routine house fire near 77th and Memorial turned out to be anything but after a firefighter on scene experienced cardiac problems. His fellow firefighters shocked him with a defibrillator several times until paramedics arrived.

Authorities believe both situations could have turned out much worse than they did.

"It's a stressful business, unfortunately he had some cardiac problems, but luckily we had the equipment, we had the training, we were on scene, we administered care," said Tulsa Assistant Chief Harold McCoy.

"It would have been difficult for them to get out if it had got any bigger than what it did. They really were pretty fortunate they had a passerby stop," Jason Rogers with the Catoosa Fire Department said.

The home in Catoosa is a complete loss. As for the Tulsa firefighter, he is still in intensive care at an area hospital.