Watch the dashcam footage HERE››
A volunteer fire chief saved a man from a burning car in Pennsylvania on Monday.
Dash cam footage shows Volunteer Fire Chief Nate Tracey of Goodwill Fire Company, hop out of his vehicle and race towards a car engulfed in flames.
Tracey, a 27-year firefighting veteran, said he opened the door and could see that the victim was not entangled in the vehicle’s wreckage.
“I leaned in and just pulled him out,” Tracey said. “That’s the standard fire service drag … The adrenaline certainly helped.”
The video shows Tracey, his arms hooked under the man’s armpits, dragging the man across the road, away from the burning vehicle.
Goodwill Lt. Matt Leonard said firefighters train on rescues like this one. But the crash Monday morning was only the second time he’s ever seen such a rescue.
“I’ve been in the fire service for 14 years, and I can only ever remember two times when I was on the scene for an mva (motor vehicle accident) with entrapment and fire,” Leonard said. “This was a true life emergency.”
And while firefighters train to do what Tracey did, it isn’t easy work, Leonard said.
“Personally, I’ve never had to make a rescue in a situation like that,” Leonard said. “But your average 180-pound person, when they’re dead weight, it’s a tremendous amount of weight. I’ve done it in training, and it’s difficult.”
The driver, identified by York Area Regional Police as Greg Fabie, of York, was listed in satisfactory condition at York Hospital on Monday afternoon.
In addition to suffering from smoke inhalation, Fabie suffered head injuries from possibly striking his head on the windshield, Tracey said.
Police continue to investigate the crash, according to authorities.
