Va. Beach firefighters rescue man in wheelchair from fire

VIRGINIA BEACH

When firefighter Dustin Lyle and his colleagues arrived at a house in the 4400 block of Hialeah Drive shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday, they smelled smoke and noticed window blinds melting but didn't think anyone was home.

That's when one of the house's residents arrived and told them her husband, who uses a wheelchair, was still inside, Lyle said.

They pulled on their breathing masks and entered the smoke-filled home to find the 76-year-old man trapped at the end of a first-floor hallway, calling for help, Lyle said. They cleared a path and wheeled him outside to waiting medics.

He went to a hospital for minor injuries and was expected to be OK, said Battalion Chief Tim Riley, a Fire Department spokesman.

A few minutes later, firefighters had extinguished the flames, which started in the wall of a utility room, Lyle said. Investigators were working to determine the cause Wednesday afternoon.

The two-story home, in the Dunbarton neighborhood off Providence Road, suffered extensive smoke damage, said Battalion Chief Ken Pravetz, a Fire Department spokesman.

"It's what we train for," Lyle said. "We're just proud that he's safe and healthy."

Pilot writer Cindy Clayton contributed to this report.