Four first responders recognized for saving two women in house fire

Four Charlotte County first responders are getting a big honor for the actions they took during a house fire.

Charlotte County Fire and EMS received applause, award, and recognition for their bravery when a Port Charlotte home went up in flames.

Battalion Chief Michael Clements, lieutenants Amy Judy and John Kelly, and Fire Medic Nick Miller carried two women out of the burning home.

“We risked a lot that day, and it paid off for the two people that survived,” Chief Clements said. “Gentlemen from the house who dove out the back window — and was bleeding —came up to me and said there was two people still inside. His mother and his wife.”

The four received medals of valor for risking their lives that day.

“It’s a pinnacle of our career to have this happen and to save somebody from a burning structure it’s very rewarding and this is the first time that the medal of valor has been given to all four of us,” the chief added.

Karen St. George used to live in the home with her husband who passed away seven months ago. But, now some of his possessions and pictures are gone with everything else.

“I don’t know what to say,” St. George said, shortly after the fire.

St. George was not home at the time of the fire. Instead, three of her friend’s family members were staying there for a wedding later that week.

Fire crews said the blaze started at the stove. Adjacent is a freezer wholly melted on the inside and a kitchen in tatters from the intense heat of the fire.

The accidental fire started in the kitchen and everyone recovered from their injuries.

As for the home, holes in the roof are patched up but it remains unlivable.

Charlotte County Fire and EMS say 20 others responded to that house fire. They were also crucial in putting the fire out quickly and saving the two lives.