The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

October 31, 2008

Neighbors rescue woman from fire

By Fred Pace

Two neighbors of an elderly woman living on James Street in Midway pulled the woman to safety Friday following a fire that started in the kitchen of her home.

“When we arrived on the scene, the house was totally engulfed,” a spokesman for the Sophia City Volunteer Fire Department said. “The neighbors had already pulled the woman to safety.”

The woman was identified as 84-year-old Mildred Lacy.

“It is my understanding she is wheelchair-bound and fell out of her wheelchair to attempt to crawl to safety when two of her neighbors pulled her out,” the spokesman said.

In addition to Sophia City, fire departments from Sophia Area, Coal City and Mabscott responded to the scene. Jan-Care Ambulance also responded.

“The home was a total loss,” the Sophia City spokesman said.

Firefighters on the scene indicated the blaze started in the kitchen and was accidental. However, the state fire marshal’s office is investigating to determine a definite cause.

Those on the scene identified the neighbors who entered the burning house to save the woman as Eddie Donell and Allen Fleshman.

Donell did not immediately return a telephone message left at his home seeking comment, while attempts to reach Fleshman were also unsuccessful.

“A lot of times these types of people don’t want to be called heroes or be in the limelight,” the fire department spokesperson said. “They said they just reacted on instinct and don’t look at themselves as heroes.”

Attempts to reach the Lacy family were also unsuccessful.

“These neighbors are to be commended,” the fire department spokesperson said. “They saved a life.”

— E-mail: fpace@register-herald.com

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