When a fire broke out inside a Washington D.C. nursing home earlier this week, these elderly residents were fortunate to share their neighborhood with the U.S. Marines.
The Arthur Capper Senior Apartments facility is located just 200 yards away from a Marine outpost in the downtown area.
Upon seeing the smoke and flames, several dozen Marines rushed onto the scene and heard firefighters saying that there were still people stuck inside the burning building—so the soldiers immediately jumped into action.
Many of them entered the burning building so they could help evacuate the residents. Others returned with extra medical equipment and wheelchairs from their outpost so they could care for the elderly until family members arrived. Other Marines helped to treat the seniors after they were evacuated.
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“It was a pretty bad fire, especially on the top floor. Some paralyzed, immobile people in there,” Capt. Trey Gregory told CBS News. “We actually just picked people up as best we possibly could and then had the wheelchairs at the exit and then put them right into the wheelchair.”
In all, 100 Marines joined in on the rescue mission. Thanks to everyone’s quick response, all 190 residents were successfully evacuated from the building with only 6 seniors being sent to the hospital for further treatment.
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