Two off-duty firefighters rescued a woman from a burning home in southeast Atlanta Tuesday morning.
Sgt. Chris Batson and Sgt. Marcus Van Dorn of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department noticed smoke on their way home from a 24-hour shift and decided to investigate.
“It’s our nature,” said Van Dorn, of going to the site of the fire. “We’re the ones helping [people] save everything they can.”
After arriving at the scene — a house in the 1000 block of Key Road, the men called in the fire and yelled into the house to see if anyone was inside. Upon hearing someone, they ran in without gear to help.
After escorting a woman from the premises they returned into the fire, prompted by toys in the front yard, to see if there were any children in the home.
“Firefighters, they are fond of saying they are always on the job,” AFRD Community Affairs Director Janet Ward said.
Van Dorn said the woman disappeared during the incident and the fire was put out, but he and Batson were happy to help.
“On duty or off duty, we just have a passion to help people — that’s just one of the things that comes with the territory,” Van Dorn said. “We’re in the business of helping others. I was just glad I was a blessing to someone else today.”
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