Durham firefighters risk lives to save woman after being summoned by automatic alarm

Firefighters rescued an unresponsive woman trapped in a burning house at 711 Rippling Stream Road Friday night.

After forcing the front door open, firefighters found the woman trapped and in cardiac arrest. They removed her from the house, Durham Fire Department Deputy Chief Chris Iannuzzi said, administered CPR and eventually felt a pulse.

Durham County EMS took over her care at that point and transferred her to Duke University Hospital.

There was no word early Saturday evening on the woman’s condition. Her identity was not released by authorities. Iannuzzi speculated Saturday afternoon that her recovery could depend on her previous physical condition, how long she was trapped and how much super-heated air and/or smoke she inhaled, if any.

He said the fire department had no idea how she was faring after she was transferred to the care of Durham County EMS.

Iannuzzi said firefighters were dispatched to the fire scene after receiving an automatic fire alarm from the woman’s house. While en route, they were informed that they were headed to a structure fire with victims trapped inside. Upon arrival, they saw heavy smoke pouring from the front of a single story house.

It was then that they forced open the front door. Firefighters battled the blaze while others treated the unresponsive woman victim. Other firefighters continued looking inside for a reported second victim, but found no one.

The blaze was brought under control within four minutes, but of the 27 firefighters that responded to the call, several units were still on scene monitoring the site at 10 p.m. Friday.

Iannuzzi said the house suffered heavy fire damage to the front living room and a rear hallway. He said the cause of the fire remained under investigation.

Twenty-seven firefighters responded to the call and several units remained on the scene late Friday.

This story was originally published December 15, 2017 at 10:06 PM with the headline "Durham firefighters risk lives to save woman after being summoned by automatic alarm."