Source: OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI / Getty
Captain Heath McCormick, firefighter Jacob Terrance, and engineer Scott Hauck, after concluding a day of training, were preparing dinner at Fire Station 5 in Mooresville.
While parked at the Food Lion near exit 33, they noticed abnormal black smoke emanating from behind the building. “My engineer advised me that there was some abnormal black smoke coming from behind the building to our left,” said McCormick. “I looked up, he was correct, so we decided we would go over and investigate.”
They discovered a red F-150 ablaze outside the Hangar 33 bar. Despite being without their firefighting gear, the crew sprang into action. As they prepared to extinguish the fire, they were alerted to a more pressing matter, says WCCB.
“Someone said, there’s someone in the car, there’s someone in the car. They’re trapped,” recounted Terrance. “We said ‘all right, now it’s time to go save a life, we got to get it in gear and get them out first.'”
Engineer Hauck acknowledged the significant shift in priorities in that moment.
