WASHINGTON — A 19-year-old Virginia woman was honored Thursday for an act of heroism and unlikely strength that saved six lives.
Charlotte Heffelmire was presented with the Citizen Lifesaving Award by the Fairfax County Fire Department for her actions last Nov. 28, in which the 5-foot, 6-inch tall, 120-pound woman pulled a pickup truck off her father, then drove it out of the family’s burning Vienna garage.
Her father, Eric Heffelmire was working under the truck last Nov. 28 when a jack slipped. When the truck fell, gasoline spilled, and a fire was ignited. Eric said not only was he trapped, but “there was an almost instantaneous, real strong smell of gasoline, and then just, whoosh!” he told NBC Washington.
Eric was pinned under the truck, and the garage had caught fire, fed by a number of propane containers inside. For about 10 minutes, he tried to get out, before Charlotte ran in and began to pick the truck up.
“I felt the weight shift, and I said, ‘You almost got it,’ and then it was just UGHHHHHHRRR, and suddenly I’m pulled out,” Eric told NBC Washington.
Charlotte was able to lift the truck twice to get her father free and pulled him to safety.
That wasn’t all. Charlotte then realized that the gas tank of the truck could easily explode in the burning garage, so she drove the three-wheeled truck out and away from the house, and closed the garage doors to help contain the fire.
She then began to hose down the house to keep the fire from spreading. Her grandmother and infant niece got out safely. Charlotte saved six lives total, officials say.
This is hardly her first selfless act. Several times, starting at age 13, she has gathered donations from her neighborhood and sent them from South Korea over to the Demilitarized Zone, as reported by The Washington Post. At 17, she ran a self-defense workshop for other teenagers.
She burned her hands and feet and hurt her back in the rescue, so she hasn’t been able to return yet to the Air Force Academy, where she’s a student. But she tells NBC Washington she’s determined to have a career in public service.
“If I can’t do any of the military branches, then probably just intelligence or government work,” she said. “Right now I’m just healing up and making sure the family is OK.”
Watch a report from NBC Washington:
