Fort Myers fire chief rescues driver from burning car

ALVA, Fla. A Southwest Florida man was hospitalized Tuesday after narrowly escaping a car fire his wife unknowingly recorded due to the quick thinking of an off-duty fire chief.

Fort Myers Shores Fire Chief David Duncan was walking his dogs with his wife on Carter Lane Tuesday when he spotted the smoke.

“We saw the fire at the end of the road so we just kept walking, called 911,” he said. “[We] had 911 on the line. As I got closer, I heard someone yelling in the ditch.”

However, Duncan wasn’t able to pull the man out of the ditch as the fire quickly moved toward him.

“Unfortunately, he fell back and I just told him to crawl away from the fire, which he did,” Duncan said. “Luckily, the guys showed up at that time and put the fire out.”

While the victim was alert and talking, he didn’t seem to know what happened, Duncan said. The extent of the victim’s injuries are unknown.

The victim’s wife recorded the car fire on Facebook, not realizing at the time it was her husband who was inside. She later posted that he’s being transported to the burn unit at Tampa General Hospital.

It’s unclear what caused the fire.