Neighborhood Heroes Honored for Action in House Fire
Published: December 30, 2004
The quick actions of a neighbor and several passersby likely saved an older couple whose home burned Sunday afternoon. Those rescuers were recognized by the Indianapolis Fire Department Monday.
Tim O’Brien was out with his son on Sunday afternoon in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood. “We were going to go sledding. We were driving past, and my son said, ‘Dad, that house is on fire,’” said O’Brien. As he spun his car around, next door neighbors Stephen Foster and his wife heard an explosion.
“I just ran out the door and she called 911,” said Foster.
An older couple was trapped inside. “It was hot and it was smoky and the fire was spreading very fast,” said O’Brien.
O’Brien tried to get inside, but was driven back by heavy smoke. “I was leery. I was scared, man. I’ll not lie to you. I was scared to death and he wasn’t. He didn’t bat an eye. He went straight in,” said O’Brien.
Foster knew the couple well, and knew the layout of the house. “I go in the side door and he’s just standing in the kitchen, grabbed him and started to go out one way, we couldn’t go out. He’s 92. He couldn’t really walk very well,” said Foster.
So Foster ran to unlock the front door, and O’Brien helped pull Robert Leech out. “Steve let go of Bob and went straight back in there to get Hilda. It was unbelievable. This guy’s the man. He’s the hero,” said O’Brien.
Foster could hear 72-year-old Hilda Frazier, but he couldn’t see her. He yelled out for her. “Hopefully just me calling her name, she knew which direction to keep coming,” said Foster. “It was getting too black. I couldn’t even see anything. I finally was just kind of grabbing. I could feel her. She had actually worked her way out in the hallway there, and it was enough for me to grab her and get her out.”
A driver stopped to help once the victims were outside. “Hilda was placed on the ground. My first reaction was to take off my jacket, and all I could think was if she’s not breathing, first reaction was CPR ,but she started talking,” said Suzy Williams.
“His actions made a difference in those two individuals being alive today. They are recovering, so I’d like to thank him once again for his act of heroics,” said Fire Chief Jim Greeson.
Does Foster feel like a hero? “No, just helping out a neighbor. That’s all,” he said.
Foster was treated for breathing in too much smoke during the rescue. Both the man and woman are still hospitalized. They’re also being treated for smoke inhalation.
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