The one handed grab – photo shows rescue of North Las Vegas firefighter
Above is a North Las Vegas Fire Department photo of the moment Firefighter Joe’l Adams fell partially through the roof of a burning home in the 3000 block of George Street on Thursday. Next to him was Firefighter Mike Harris who, according to news reports, was able to make a one handed grab and pull Adams from the flames. Both firefighters were taken to the hospital but, thanks to their PPE and the quick work of firefighter Harris, neither man was seriously injured.
Below is an interview with the firefighters from KLAS-TV.
Heavy smoke billowed from the building’s attic when the team of first responders arrived, though they could not immediately find its source, Capt. Cedric Williams said. The firefighters tried to cut a hole on the home’s roof to find the fire and release some of the trapped heat, but within seconds the smoke turned into a raging fire that enveloped the top of the building.
One firefighter tumbled inside, while a second partially fell through. Once the second firefighter regained his balance, he reached into the roof, and through the flames he grabbed his partner by his air pack with one hand, pulling him out to safety.
Adams was covered in flames and stuck among the rafters. Harris sunk halfway in, but regained his balance.
“For me everything slowed down, I could hear all the radio traffic. I could hear the radio down below me and I could hear Joe’l,” Harris said.
Adams protective gear was on fire, but did its job, protecting him from serious burns. Harris reached in and grabbed the man he had been working side-by-side with for six years on Truck 52 in North Las Vegas.
“That is when my partner yelled, ‘Hey get out of there!’ I stood up and said, ‘Grab me, grab me,’ and he grabbed the loops of my air tank and pulled me out,” Adams said.
Adams weighed 250 pounds with his gear on. Mike pulled him out of the flames with one hand, even though it meant putting his own life in danger.
