SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As a house burned Tuesday afternoon in Sacramento, a Good Samaritan rushed to help rescue a woman inside before firefighters arrived.
Robert Longer said he didn’t think when he saw his neighbor’s house on fire around 3 p.m. along the 3200 block of Normington Drive — he just reacted. The fire started in the garage and quickly spread to the rest of the elderly couple’s single-story home, according to the Sacramento Fire Department.
Longer reportedly ran across the street to a man in the front yard suffering from burns who said his wife was still in there.
“I just went into the house,” Longer said. “The smoke was overwhelming, and the heat was so intense.”
He went in and out of the home roughly six or seven times before finally dragging the woman out. Surveillance video shows neighbors joining hands to help move her away from the flames.
The Sacramento Fire Department said it does not recommend people do what Longer did, however, he could have been the difference between life and death for the woman in this case.
“I just know that I wanted to help out my neighbors,” Longer said. “To be clear, in hindsight I don’t think that it was smart. But in those moments, you don’t think, you just react. And, we all have to do what we have to do to take care of each other.”
The man and woman who lived in the home are in critical condition, the fire department said.
The cause of the fire, which created a smoke billow visible from miles away, is under investigation. Restoration crews were on scene Tuesday night and worked to board up windows.
Sacramento firefighters said November is when they see an uptick in house fires as most people are using their heating appliances or turning on their HVAC systems for the first time.
