Woman in Wheelchair Saved from Fire

DETROIT - They're taught to expect the unexpected, and what happened inside a house on Charlevoix early Wednesday morning caught everyone by surprise.

"I (came) out (of) my back room and when I (came) out (of) the back room, I (saw) fire everywhere. Scared me that my heart just jumping through my body," said Noreline London.

London was scared with good reason. The 65-year-old could not run to safety. The stroke survivor is in a wheelchair and was trapped.

"I was trying to get through the kitchen and I couldn't get through the kitchen. My wheels (were) stopping me," London said. "When I fell out of my chair I hit the floor, and I started trying to move and (couldn't) move."

While that drama was unfolding inside, a crew from Community EMS in Southfield just happened to be riding past. They saw the smoke and jumped out to help.

"I grabbed a blanket (and) doused her with water. My partner was helping people out of the back door," said one worker.

"The older woman that was in the wheelchair, she was (lying) on the ground," said a second worker.

"We had to drag her out as quickly as possible," the first worker said.

"They dragged me across the kitchen floor out the side door," said London.

The people who were rescued say without that crew and their neighbors, they never would have made it out alive.

The Community EMS crew also pulled another relative out along with neighbors, who rushed over to see what they could do. Two men were able to escape on their own.

The family has no idea what caused the fire. They lost everything, but everyone's still alive.