NEAR OCALA, Fla. (WSVN) — A paramedic who risked his life to pull a man out of a burning car in Marion County will be recognized.
A car crashed into a tree and burst into flames near Ocala on Monday morning, trapping the driver inside.
Stephen Cabrera, who was off duty at the time, saw the commotion and rushed to help.
A bystander used a piece of car debris to pry the window open, and Cabrera realized the airbag had trapped the driver inside.
“It was literally 20 seconds, but the result could have been much worse,” he said. “Flames broke out in the passenger cabin. He had significant burns on the right side of his body, so at that point I had a knife and was able to cut out the seatbelt and airbag and opened the car door. I was able to pull him out of the car.
Although the chances of success seemed slim at times, they succeeded in rescuing the man from the burning car and drove him a safe distance before returning to check if Cabrera was trapped inside. was maintained.
“There were moments where I didn’t know if I was going to open the door in time,” Cabrera said. “It crashed through the rear window and at that point it was only a matter of seconds before the entire interior of the car was completely engulfed and there was no way to get inside.”
There were no other people in the car.
Cabrera says he’s never really off duty.
“Part of the job is we’re never really off-duty,” he said. “It’s been almost 20 years. We’re celebrating 20 years of Marion County Fire Rescue in June, so I just did what any first responder around the state would do because it’s instinctive now. .”
Cabrera’s actions could only be described as heroic. But he credits those who jumped in to help, perhaps without any formal training.
“For me and all the other first responders that I work with, I think they’re the real heroes of this because it’s become a habit. But if they don’t have any training, It’s pretty unusual for them to stop without receiving it,” he said. “The results were definitely for the best.”
Marion County Fire Rescue said the man is expected to survive his injuries.
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