The fire commanders at the scene of the airplane crash Monday in Riverside had to make a decision: Did rescuers have a realistic chance of safely entering the home the plane hit and saving anyone as the flames burned fiercely?
Fire Chief Michael Moore said the flames initially were burning on the exterior of the house, so after a quick assessment, the answer was yes.
Two firefighters entered a front bedroom where there was “zero visibility,” Capt. Tyler Reynolds said. They used a thermal imaging system to detect body heat, but it was the moaning of a woman who was buried under debris that attracted firefighters’ attention, Reynolds said.
Two firefighters dug the woman out and handed her off through a window to colleagues.