3 hours ago
Swift News
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District is celebrating the heroism of one of its own.
At 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, Shuswap Fire Department members were dispatched to a structural fire at a property located in the Blind Bay area north of Salmon Arm, near the Dreamcycle Motorcycle Museum.
Shuswap Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Ty Barrett was first on scene of the fully engulfed fire, where he saw the homeowner standing on the driveway in front of the home.
He attempted to lead the man to a safe location but was told the man's son was still in the building.
After learning where the son was, Barrett entered a door on the north side of the residence, which was not yet on fire. As he and the elderly resident made their way along a hallway, Barrett noticed the unconscious son on the floor.
The father, meanwhile, had wandered further into the building. So, Barrett carried the son six or seven feet, propped him on a post near the entrance, and went back into the burning building to find him. He located the elderly man in the kitchen, retrieving items from a table which was now on fire, and escorted him to the entrance, where his son had recovered enough to stand up.
"I am not a hero," protests a humble Barrett, calling the response a team effort by an amazing team of extremely hardworking men and women. "It could have been a lot worse with embers flying all over the place, but the firefighters did an amazing job keeping it to one property. I'm happy everyone's ok, I'm just happy for that."
