Firefighters, neighbors help rescue disabled man from fire

Firefighters and neighbors helped rescue a disabled man from a garage fire Monday.

It happened on Nolte Drive in southeast Colorado Springs near Jetwing and Powers before 7:30 p.m.

Firefighters said when they arrived, two neighbors were helping put out the flames with a garden hose.

“I got to tell you, they were doing a good job trying to hold it in check, but it looked like the fire had gotten in and above them” said Captain Anthony Cerrone. “Good for them. They were really doing good work.”

Cerrone said the only person in the home, a man who was sitting in a chair in the garage, had to be carried out. Neighbors said the man can’t walk.

“I dont know if he has some medical conditions or was overcome by the smoke or a combinatioon of the two,” said Cerrone. “It wasn’t a cooperative rescue.”

The man was taken to the hospital, but is expected to be OK. Firefighters said he lives in the house with his wife, who wasn’t home at the time of the fire.

Crews said the blaze primarily damaged the garage, and the couple should be able to return home eventually. They said the fire looked to be electrical and an accidental.