Man Hailed as Hero After Pulling Driver from Burning Car: 'Everything Happened So Fast'
A Connecticut man is being recognized as a hero after he pulled a driver from his burning car following a sudden explosion.
The Stafford Fire Department shared security footage Wednesday of the miraculous moment passerby Edward Cyr risked his life to save that of Glenwood Little, whose vehicle was engulfed in flames in a matter of seconds.
The video, taken Nov. 1 just before 7 p.m. in Stafford Springs, shows Little’s car driving along the road when it suddenly goes up in flames, sending sparks shooting out the top.
The blaze continues to burn with Little inside, before Cyr, driving by in the opposite direction following dinner with his wife, stops his car and runs across the road to pull Little to safety.
“We heard a big boom, and the car actually shook both me and my wife. We kind of see a car, looks like it’s on fire, and as we get close to him, we notice there’s a man inside,” Cyr told WVIT. “I went to grab him and he was stuck in his seatbelt, so I had to reach in and unbuckle him, and then pull him out.”
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Little told the outlet that an ambulance happened to be nearby, and he was taken to the hospital for minor injuries to his face and hands.
The man said he was out to fill his car with gas for his generators when the explosion occurred.
“There was a little hump, and that’s when the gas can went over. And I could hear it like, oozing out, going, ‘Doosh, doosh, doosh,’” he recalled. “And like I said, I had a cigarette going. … Everything happened so fast.”
In recounting the rescue, Little said he didn’t even notice Cyr had approached when a hand reached in and freed him from his seatbelt.
“I hugged him and I wanted to kiss him, you know?” he said. “But we shook hands. … For him to do what he did, I’m here to spend a little bit more time with my grandchildren.”
Cyr’s heroics were recognized by Chief David Lucia of the fire department, who praised him in a Facebook post.
“Without regard for his own safety, he pulled the driver from a burning car which just exploded as he turned the corner. You saved Mr. Glenwood Little from burning inside his vehicle. Words can’t describe this act. … Mr. Cyr, you are a hero,” Lucia wrote.
The department later honored Cyr with a certificate at a ceremony in which he and Little reunited.
“There’s not always bad in this world anymore,” Cyr told WVIT. “There’s still good people out there.”
