A Bakersfield man is being hailed as a hero after pulling his neighbor from her burning Bakersfield apartment. Bakersfield firefighters worked to save the apartment building after a fire erupted in one of its units Monday night.
Ryan Cunningham was in his apartment when he noticed smoke coming from the unit beneath him. That's when he decided to go downstairs to see what was wrong. "...and when I got down there I could hear her alarm going off and I opened up the door. Black smoke just started billowing out. I could never imagine smoke that thick," said Cunningham.
Cunningham could hear his neighbor moaning. He used his arms to guide his way toward the woman trapped inside, but the smoke was too thick. Cunningham ran outside to catch his breath and called 911. "And when I was on the phone with them I told them I had to go in one more time to try and save her," Cunningham added.
He went in again and crawled across the floor toward the bathroom where he was able to grab the woman's arm and drag her to safety. Firefighters and police arrived shortly after.
Kelley Chase suffered severe respiratory damage and was taken to Kern Medical Center.
Fire officials have not released a cause, but the apartment owner says she was told by investigators that the stove was left on. "The burner was left on and ignited and for some reason the tenant wasn't aware of it.." said apartment owner Elizabeth May.
May is thankful and said that had Cunningham not taken action, the outcome would have been a different story. "He truly is a hero for taking it upon himself to get her out of the fire," said May.
"You just do what you have to do. Years of public service announcements kicked right in and I kind of just knew what to do," said a humble Cunningham.
Kelleye Chase was recently transferred to the University Medical Center in Fresno where she is said to be in critical but stable condition.
