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These Andalusia Fire Department firefighters responded to a Barton Street house fire with entrapment on Saturday, March 19. Two of them, Kyle Byrd and Lane Prevett, actually went into the burning house to rescue a mother and son who were huddled in the back bedroom and disoriented from smoke inhalation.

Capt. Shannon Kelley of the AFD said firefighters kicked the door in, began to fight the fire in the kitchen, and found a woman and her son huddled in a bedroom. One of the exit doors was blocked, he said, and the second one was blocked by flames.

The home was saved, but sustained heavy smoke damage, he said.

All agreed that the adrenalin started pumping as soon as they heard people were trapped.

The only thought was “we gotta get them out,” Prevett said.

Prevett and Byrd said the occupants were disoriented from smoke inhalation when they got to them. While both were suffering from smoke inhalation, neither was burned, they said, and they were turned immediately over to the care of Advanced EMS.

The feeling after they got the residents out?

“Great relief,” Prevett said.

“This is what we train to do,” Kelley said. “We hope we never have to use the training, but these guys did a great job.”