When ETSU senior Austin Brown pulled out of his driveway heading to school around 9 a.m. Tuesday, he noticed a large amount of smoke moving across the road.
The smoke had come from a house fire on Spice Hollow Road in Johnson City. Two people were inside at the time of the fire. One person died, but Brown, who got out of his car to help when he saw the fire, saved the other person’s life.
“I noticed a man standing outside of the house, just waving his arms to come help, so I just threw my car in park, rushed to the man, and he told me where one of the women were in the house,” Brown said. “So, I was able to open up the door and see her laying there on the floor – not really able to respond or anything – so I was able to knock the door down a little bit more out of the way, get her walker from being trapped around her, and then I was able to get to her a little bit better and pull her out from the door there.”
By then the smoke had escalated, and the fire at the back of the house had increased. Being the first time he had seen a fire that intense, Brown said it looked like something from a movie.
“It was super bad,” Brown said, describing the fire. “I only had about a foot or two of visible space left on the ground floor. Everything above that was pretty much pitch black, and it was really starting to catch and take over there at that time.”
Brown got the woman out the door, off the porch and took her to the side of the road until ambulance arrived. He said Washington County EMS arrived roughly five minutes after getting her out of the house. According to a WJHL article, other responding agencies included Embreeville Volunteer Fire Department, Nolichucky Valley VFD and West Carter County Volunteer Fire Department.
Brown said first responders put out the fire and retrieved the second person, who died, from the house around noon. The man had been stuck in the center of the house where the roof collapsed in, Brown said.
“I just tried to step in and do everything I could, and it worked out that we got at least one of the people out of the house,” Brown said.
Although he was panicked and did not know exactly what was happening, Brown said he knew he needed to help.
“I just had the feeling that it was all in timing – that it was really meant for me to be there, and I was the hands of really, God, just to do the work through him,” Brown said. “And it just worked out to hopefully be a new start for her, and hopefully she gets every chance that she needs to really make a comeback from this.”
The woman was initially taken to the Johnson City Medical Center, and she was later transported to the Wake Forest Baptist Health Burn Center. Around 9 p.m. Tuesday, Brown said he received a voicemail from a neighbor saying the woman was going to survive.
“That made my night really,” Brown said. “I was able to go to sleep a little bit easier knowing that.”
Investigators from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the fire started in a bedroom, but the exact cause is still under investigation, according to WJHL.
Brown said he hopes his actions can inspire people of his generation to help others in times of need.
“I really hope that kind of does spark some ideas in people and just turn onto that selflessness, really hopefully that just – put your thoughts and concerns aside sometimes when somebody really needs the help.”
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