A pair of off-duty Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue firefighters are describing the moments they helped pull an injured driver from a burning car in Weston.
BSFR units responded to the scene of the single-vehicle crash along the southbound lanes, just north of Royal Palm Boulevard, at around 7 a.m. on Sunday.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the vehicle veered off the roadway and struck a light pole, sparking a small fire.
Chris Florea and Steve Krivjanik, lieutenants for BSFR, were both traveling nearby heading to work at the time of the crash.
“We saw a plume of smoke, saw the vehicle there, saw a person inside. I thought it was really critical,” said Krivjanik.
“As I was getting closer, I noticed an arm waving outside the driver’s side window,” said Florea.
Both first responders immediately jumped into action to help the driver.
“We both ran right to the car and Lieutenant Krivjanik at the time pulled up in his work vehicle, he grabbed a ABC fire extinguisher,” said Florea.
“I was really concerned it was going to make its way into the passenger compartment,” said Krivjanik.
Upon reaching the vehicle, the men discovered the driver was badly wounded.
“We went up to the gentleman’s door, I’m asking, ‘Are you injured?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah,’ he goes, ‘I can’t move, I can’t get out,’ and I looked at his leg and he had a big deformity on his leg,” said Florea.
The two say the growing fire and continued blood loss were major concerns as they extricated the driver.
“Simultaneously, he was putting out the fire with the ABC extinguisher and we were able to pull him out,” said Florea.
Krivjanik also called for an air rescue, concerned that, with the man suffering a traumatic injury, every second counted to save his life.
The pair also recognized just how fortunate the man was to have two firefighters driving by at the exact moment he needed them.
“I can’t imagine the odds and we’re pretty humble people, so I don’t really like talking about that kind of stuff but, really, if you think about it, it’s almost like we’re like an angel over the guy, I mean, what are the chances,” said Krivjanik.
Florea said despite hardly ever working with Krivjanik, the two were in complete sync as they rescued the man.
“I never worked with Lieutenant Krivjanik; I can’t count on my hands how many times I’ve worked with him, very few amount of times and we were on the same wavelength, our minds were just working together,”
The firefighters said there was a third driver who stopped and was really helpful to them, but he drove off before they could get his name.
The injured driver remains in the hospital in stable condition.