INDIANAPOLIS — When Vance Vanlandingham heard the constant sound of someone honking their horn outside of his mobile home on the south side of Indianapolis, he knew something was wrong.
“I came outside to see what it was and saw smoke coming from out of the front of the trailer,” Vanlandingham said.
Vanlandingham told his girlfriend to grab a fire extinguisher. He rushed over to realize his neighbor, 62-year-old Tony Stevens, was still inside.
“Before I was even on the porch, it (the heat) just got worse and worse,” Vanlandingham said.
Vanlandingham was going to save his neighbor.
“I just kept calling out to him and he wasn’t able to speak, so all I heard was a loud moan, and I just started reaching in that direction. I started reaching in and felt his arm and started dragging him," Vanlandingham said. "There’s an individual who happens to go to this church across the street who happened to be coming by and he helped me, once I got him to the porch, to get him away from the house to safety until the fire department got around."
Vanlandingham said while he can’t remember his name, he wants that man to know how thankful he is.
“If it wasn’t for him, me and Tony probably both would have been in the fire,” Vanlandingham said.
Indianapolis firefighters rushed to Madison Avenue around 9 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 11 and put out the flames in about 15 minutes. Investigators ruled the fire accidental, but have not yet released a specific cause.
Vanlandingham credits lifesaving skills he learned when he was 12 years old in a cadet program with the Paragon Volunteer Fire Department.
“They taught us a lot about situations like this. In an instant, all of that came back, and I believe that’s why Tony’s alive,” Vanlandingham said.
Stevens was taken to Eskenazi Hospital in serious condition.
On Monday, a hospital spokesperson told 13News his condition was critical.
Stevens’ brother, who did not want to be interviewed, said doctors put him in a medically-induced coma and that he has swelling in his chest.
His brother also told 13News that Stevens is an Army veteran on a fixed income. Stevens moved to his Madison Avenue home, near his brother, with his dog, Woo, about six months ago.
Neighbors have been looking after Woo, giving her food and shelter. They say the Alaskan Akita often walks through the burned mobile home.
“She keeps going in there looking for him, which is really sad,” Vanlandingham said.
As Woo lies down in the front yard of her home with her chin pressed against the grass and her eyes filled with sadness, she waits for her friend of 14 years to come back home.