A West Hartford firefighter is being hailed as a hero for his quick actions in another state.
Steeve Parent pulled a man out of a burning car on the side of a Massachusetts highway.
Parent, a firefighter and paramedic for the West Hartford Fire Department, was off-duty, taking a day trip to Massachusetts with his fiance when traffic came to a stop and he saw a car overturned and on fire.
A bystander told him that someone was still inside.
“I ran up to it opened the door and the gentleman was still in there,” Parent said. “I started to pull him out another bystander came by to help me get him out of the car.”
After freeing the driver from the vehicle, Parent and others realized the victim wasn’t breathing. He said he and several others began CPR.
“Shortly after that he started breathing again, stopped CPR, checked his pulse, he had a pulse again, so from that point on we just focused on keeping his airway open and keeping him breathing until the first responders got there,” Parent said.
Word spread quickly back home around the department about the brave actions of one of their own.
“We were extremely proud of the work that he had done, and we're extremely proud to hear his reaction how he was able to take the scene under control and effect a rescue in a very dangerous situation,” said Assistant Chief Hugh O’Callaghan.
Despite not having any protective gear and knowing time was running out, Parent said he just reacted.
“I knew that if I got to him quickly and got him out that the risk was less and that was the only time we would probably be able to get in there and get him out,” Parent said. “You take the chance and you hope that you don't get hurt.”
The driver did survive, but his current condition is not clear.
