A passerby rescued a mom and her four children from a house fire in Wyoming early Tuesday morning, Fox 13 reports.
Ryan Pasborg was driving towards town for work early Tuesday morning when he smelled smoke and noticed that a home's bedroom window was on fire.
According to the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office statement, he could not see any emergency lights. Hence, he pulled into the driveway and noticed a young girl and two boys standing outside the house. When he asked where their mom was, the children said their four-month-old brother and mom were still inside the burning house.
Saving the mom and toddler from fire
Pasborg, who used to be a volunteer firefighter, went inside the burning home without hesitation and pulled a woman and a child out of the house.
In GoodNews Network, he told authorities that he could not see anything inside the house due to heavy smoke. Pasborg said he crawled on his hands and knees on the floor. He made it into the kitchen before he bumped into a child. He grabbed the boy around the waist, picked him up, and carried him outside.
Once out, he noted that the windchill was below zero, so he placed the children in the truck before getting back in the house the second time.
Once inside the house for the second time, he found the woman on the floor moments later. She was badly burned and had difficulty breathing. He dragged the young mother outside and performed CPR to save her.
Pasborg then moved the family away from the burning house to the end of the driveway near the highway. He called for the emergency responders to arrive.
According to the Star Tribune, the emergency responders took the woman, 34, and her four-year-old son to a hospital for treatment by ambulance. Later, the woman was flown by helicopter to the University of Utah Burn Center in Salt Lake City.
However, the family's two dogs died in the fire.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire, but according to the sheriff, it was not suspicious.
Pasborg later purchased clothing worth several hundred dollars and essentials. Mower said he delivered the goods to the family at their grandmother's residence.
Bravery and Selfless
According to Deputy Jason Mower with the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office, Pasborg served as a volunteer firefighter in Superior, Wyoming.
Mower also told Fox13 News that it is more likely than not that it would have been late for the mom and that little boy by the time the emergency responders arrived.
The head of the police department also said he was impressed by Pasbourg's bravery and selflessness.
In a press statement, Sheriff John Grossnickle said that it is a blessing that Pasborg was in the right place at the right time. He also noted that it was commendable that Pasborg did not doubt risking his own life to save the family, without hesitation, even if it meant risking his own life to help keep the family. His bravery meant a difference between life and death for the young mother and her child. "He gave them a fighting chance," Grossnickle wrote.
