A 63-year-old disabled Brooksville woman is safe and staying with family members after she was rescued from a fire in her home by four deputies from the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office .
According to the Hernando County Fire and Emergency Services (HCFES), in the early morning hours of May 13, personnel from that agency and from the Brooksville Fire Department responded to a call reporting a residential fire on the 800 block of St. Francis St. The call was placed by the homeowner who reported that her bedroom was ablaze, and that she could not escape because she was confined to a wheelchair.
Michael Terry deputy public information Officer (PIO) for the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said that Deputies K. Keiper, D. Hadsell, M. Beebe, and E. Croan arrived at the scene of the fire ahead of fire crews, entered the home and located the woman confined to her bed in the home’s already burning bedroom. Keiper, Hadsell, and Beebe lifted the woman from her bed, relocated her to the home’s living-room and then carried her to safety well away from the fire.
The deputies also rescued the woman’s two dogs.
None of the deputies who responded to the fire were injured, Terry said.
Fire crews arrived at the scene three minutes after receiving the call, and were able to bring the fire under control within 15 minutes, the HCFES said.
A burning cigarette located near the woman’s oxygen cannula is blamed for the fire.
Following her rescue the woman was transported to a local hospital where her condition was evaluated. She was later released into the care of family members.
