RICHMOND, Maine — A Richmond man is in critical condition after a police officer pulled him out of a burning building on Christmas morning.
As Wade Welner, 30, fights for his life in the hospital, his family is thanking the man who gave him a chance.
Christmas Eve was turning into Christmas Day, and Richmond police Officer Christopher Giles was the only one on duty when flames broke out at Welner’s Main Street apartment building.
“I was a mile down the road, and I was already headed in that direction, so it didn’t take me long to get there,” Giles said.
Another resident told him Welner was trapped inside on the second floor. With the front door blocked by flames, Giles ran to the back.
“We weren’t able to get the door open because there was a lot of stuff on other end leaning up against it, so we couldn’t get the door in, so ultimately I ended up breaking the door into pieces and pulling it down,” Giles said.
He said a civilian riding along with him used a fire extinguisher to knock down some of the flames, and then a sheriff’s deputy arrived and went inside with him to look for Welner.
“We attempted to make entry into the apartment, but we were overcome with smoke, so we got some fresh air, ran back in and located the man lying on the floor in the hallway,” Gilse said.
Welner was unconscious and not breathing very well, according to Giles, who said the deputy drove the ambulance so an extra paramedic could work on Welner.
“It was a team effort,” Giles said. “There were a lot of us involved.”
Giles said he has worked for the department the past three years but just graduated from the police academy last week. The training, he said, prepared him for high-stress situations — but not necessarily this one.
“I’ve got equipment to protect me from bullets,” he said. “I don’t have equipment to protect me from fire.”
Welner’s mom, Lissa Nichols, spoke with CBS 13 from Arizona. She said she was able to thank Giles by phone on Monday but hoped to do so in person, as well.
She said her son is conscious and had his breathing tube removed, but the family is still taking it day by day.
Giles is happy he could give Welner a fighting chance and his family some
hope.
“It’s a Christmas to remember,” Giles said.
The state fire marshal’s office is still trying to pinpoint the cause of the fire, though investigators said it did start in Welner’s unit.
A Go Fund Me page has been started to help Welner.