Young Acushnet Firefighter Praised For Rescue In 'First Big Fire'

ACUSHNET (CBS) – A young firefighter helped save a woman's life in Acushnet late Sunday night.

Firefighters were called to a home on Coulombe Street around 11 p.m. after flames broke out on the second floor.

Three firefighters heard a woman calling for help and pulled her out of the house.

"She had moderate to severe burns to her feet and she was suffering from smoke inhalation. She was conscious and alert," Acushnet Fire Chief Kevin Gallagher told WBZ-TV.

The 52-year-old woman was the only person in the home. She was airlifted to Rhode Island Hospital where she was listed in serious condition Monday.

"It was instinct, I was just doing what I've been trained to do," says Adam Hebert, a 19-year-old call firefighter, credited with saving the woman along with his cousin.

Sunday night, Adam got the call that a home was on fire. So he and his 28-year old cousin Paul Frysinger, got into their gear, and made it to the home, where they saw the top floor in flames.

"He [Paul] was the first in, and I backed him up," Hebert said, "and as we dragged the hose in, we had to fight our way through the smoke and flames to the second floor landing. We knocked down the flames, then we heard the cry for help."

So Hebert and his cousin, who is a firefighter and paramedic, found the 52-year-old woman in a bathroom and got her out.

Frysinger was in the firehouse Monday and said he is proud of Hebert. Frysinger added that firehouse rituals will not be done away with just because the kid helped rescue someone.

"Hazing is a way of life in here and we're giving it to him pretty good,"Frysinger said, "but it's all in good fun."

Gallagher praised the three firefighters for their quick, heroic work.

"One of the firefighters, our tradition is if you get a rescue the chief buys you a drink off-duty. He informed me he's not old enough. He's 19 years old," Gallagher said.

Hebert has been on the job for just six months. The chief says this was "his first big fire."

There's no word yet on how the fire started.