Firefighters in Missouri are being called “true heroes” after they helped an elderly veteran in an electric wheelchair get home after the chair got stuck and his battery almost died.
Members of the Raytown Fire Protection District received an urgent call to assist the man after his wheelchair became stuck in a muddy patch of grass.
According to deputy chief Mike Hunley, neighbours had tried freeing the man to no avail so they called the fire department.
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Upon arrival, the firefighters lifted him onto dry land. They then noticed his battery was running low, so they made a decision.
“They had to get this man home, and there was no better way than push him,” Hunley told Yahoo Lifestyle.
Despite the 80 F, or about 27 C, weather, they switched the man’s chair into neutral and began pushing him the seven blocks to his home.
Video posted to Facebook from inside a fire truck shows three firefighters as they make part of the trek to the veteran’s residence.
“What happens when a fire truck comes upon a citizen whose electric wheelchair has stopped working. You get out and help them,” they wrote in the post.
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During the trip, Hunley said the man didn’t offer much information about himself but thanked the firefighters for their help.
Once they reached his home, they also pushed him up a ramp to charge his battery.
“Helping people is a gratifying job,” Hunley said.
The video has been viewed more than 66,000 times since its posting.
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