Posted on 01/05/2009 4:41:23 PM PST by SandRat
Newport News, Va. (NNS) -- USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Sailors rescued and provided first aid to victims of an apartment complex fire in Hampton, Va., Dec. 4.
Lt. Vidal Lozado; Lt. Justin Quinn; Aviation Boatswain's Mate (handler) 3rd Class (AW/SW) Andre Ford; Aviation Boatswain's Mate (equipment) 3rd Class (AW) David Ifill; Aviation Boatswain's Mate (handler) 2nd Class (AW/SW) Rory Love and Aviation Boatswain's Mate (equipment) 2nd Class (AW/SW) Christopher Gaston assisted several fire victims at the Colonial Village Apartments.
Lozado says when he arrived home that evening he heard loud voices, figuring it was just the beginning of weekend festivities when shortly he started hearing children yelling and screaming. Then he looked out his window.
"I looked outside my window, and all of a sudden I saw the top of the building was pretty much set ablaze," said Lozado. "The first thing I did was call 9-1-1; then woke up my roommate, put a sweater on, then went running downstairs and went to see if we could offer any kind of aid."
They had their chance to help immediately when they came across a man who was seriously injured after he had jumped from the third floor of the building. After getting him to a safer place, they went to the front of the burning building and noticed a family on the second floor in need. They convinced the father to drop his daughter from the window where Lozado and others caught her, the family dog and then the father in a blanket. Lozado then went off to try to rouse the others in the building who may not realize their building was on fire.
Quinn was just getting ready for bed when Lozado knocked on his door. He remembers some fleeting images while he and Lozado were scrambling around helping everyone they could.
"A lot of people were just watching from the outskirts, just amazed, watching this thing go up in flames," Quinn remembered. "I saw a pregnant women standing by, one guy jumped out of the window already and broke his leg and probably broke his collar bone laying feet from the house."
Soon the others Enterprise Sailors who also live in the complex joined and put their best efforts into getting everyone out in time. Despite their best efforts three people didn't make it. Ford ran into the building and managed to pull out one little girl before the fire became too intense keeping that total from becoming four.
"I went upstairs where the fire seemed to have started," recalls Ford, "and as soon as I kicked in the door (to an apartment) a little girl was sitting in a corner. I grabbed the little girl and went downstairs and she kept crying 'My grandmother, my little cousins…their still inside.' By the time I got back upstairs the fire had gotten too big for me to handle."
As the fire burned higher more people got involved in the rescue before the local fire department arrived on the scene. Through it all the training these Sailors received kicked in and helped them minimize the casualties. Though all the Sailors who rendered assistance are considered heroes by some, Love feels that it's the only thing he could have done.
"I did what I hope anyone would do for my loved ones," said Love. "It was kind of like - this is what I was supposed to do."
After the fire has been doused, Enterprise Sailors have continued their assistance to the affected famiies by pushing donation drives through the Red Cross and locally.
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Good service to the community Enterprise!
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