NewsLocal NewsIn Your ParishAcadia Parish

Actions

Men pull elderly man to safety after house fire

Posted at 5:17 PM, Mar 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-20 18:54:52-04

An Acadia Parish man who uses a wheelchair is lucky to be alive after being rescued from his burning house.

That fire happened on Jefferson Avenue in Estherwood. The 70-year-old man who lives there is now crediting two of his neighbors with saving his life.

According to authorities, the elderly man was able to drag himself right outside of his house near the carport, but it’s the actions of two men that they say saved his life.

“I ran down here and seen the poor old man trying to get out of his house,” William Cooper said. “I tried to get him out as quick as I could.”

Cooper and Brandon Bertrand say they were outside taking out the trash when they noticed the smoke down the street. They noticed their neighbor trying to escape the fire.

“He was underneath the carport thinking he was safe while the house was in flames,” Cooper said.

The two safely got him away from the fire into the street.

“Not long after we got the man to the road something exploded,” Coopers said. “I want to say it’s the car, but i’m not 100 percent sure.”

Williams says he put his fears aside because he couldn’t stand to watch anyone get hurt.

“A fire is one of my worst fears especially, getting burnt,” Cooper said. “My stomach is still messed up. I couldn’t see nobody burned.”

Now the two are being called heroes.

“Something I didn’t think I would ever be called,” Cooper said.

The elderly man suffered some burns from the fire and he remains in the hospital being treated for his injuries. Investigators say they believe the fire started in the home’s master bedroom. That fire is not being considered ‘suspicious’ in nature.