Off-duty fireman and wife team up to save people in burning SUV, NC officials say

A firefighter and his wife rushed to rescue two people from a burning SUV, after hearing the crash impact from their home, according to investigators in North Carolina.

It happened around 12 a.m. on New Year’s Day near Cameron, and the crash victims were taken by ambulance to a trauma center, the Crains Creek Fire Department said in a Jan. 1 Facebook post. Details of their condition were not released.

“Units were notified that the vehicle was fully engulfed. Upon arrival, a single vehicle accident involving a car versus trees was confirmed, with the vehicle fully involved and a small grass fire also burning,” the fire department reported in a Jan. 1 news release.

“The two occupants were outside the vehicle and lying on the ground. Crews ... quickly brought the fire under control and extinguished it while other members assisted with patient care.”

Photos shared by the department show the vehicle was destroyed in the fire.

An investigation into how the two people got out revealed the impact was loud enough to be heard from a nearby home, and the homeowners rushed to investigate, officials said.

“Dylan Turney and wife Kiersten Turney had removed the victims from the vehicle as the fire began,” the fire department said.

“Mr. Turney is a volunteer with our department and a full-time firefighter with Spout Springs Emergency Services.”

The couple have been lauded as “selfless and heroic” on social media.

“Thanks for being a positive example as first responder heroes 24 hrs a day,” Jack Simpson wrote on the fire department’s Facebook page.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

It happened about a 60-mile drive southwest from downtown Raleigh, at the intersection of Hilmongrove and Cameronhill roads.

This story was originally published January 2, 2026 at 6:07 AM with the headline "Off-duty fireman and wife team up to save people in burning SUV, NC officials say."