There is a high level of courage that comes with being a firefighter, which is why they're often called heroes. That bravery was captured on so many cameras Monday at the scene of a deadly Riverside plane crash.
"You almost go into an automatic mode ... all of our training and education, it all kind of plays a role," said Riverside Fire Department Capt. Chuck Tasker.
Two homes erupted into flames, and as the crew from station three battled the fire, they knew there could be survivors inside a neighboring home.
Moments later, Capt. Tasker began pulling burning debris out of a front bedroom window.
"That's when I couldn't see anything, but I heard a moan for help," Tasker said.
The survivor, a woman, was lying face down on a bed.
"There was a lot of heat, a lot of debris in that room," said firefighter Paul Seawright.
News
Top news of the day
So he used a thermal imaging camera to locate her. Seawright and fellow firefighter David Nelson ran inside the home and seconds later, they helped carry the survivor through a window with help from Capt. Tasker and other emergency responders.
After getting her to an awaiting ambulance, Capt. Tasker dropped to his knees, physically and emotionally drained. But that's also about the time when the victim, Stacey Pierce, told them someone was with her.
Capt. Tasker said, "knowing the room ... we found some toys, our immediate thought was that there was potentially a child inside."
Thankfully no children were inside the home at the time of the crash. It turned out Pierce was talking about one of the other passengers on the plane.
Three of the plane's occupants died, but one other woman, Silvia Farelas, survived.
When NBC4 showed the firefighters some video of their heroism, they said what heroes often say: they were just doing their jobs.
"We love our jobs and we try our hardest to do the best and do the right thing every time," firefighter David Nelson said.
